November Marks Sixth Record Heat Month; 2023 Set for Hottest Year

By IndraStra Global News Team

Cover Image Attribute: Image by NoName_13 from Pixabay

The streak of escalating temperatures on Earth continued into November, marking the sixth consecutive month of record-breaking heat, as per data from the European climate agency. This record-setting warmth extended to encompass the hottest autumn ever recorded, contributing to the trend of unprecedented heat observed throughout this year. With just one month remaining in 2023, indications strongly suggest that this year is poised to surpass previous records as the hottest year on record.
According to the European Space Agency's Copernicus Climate Change Service, November registered nearly a third of a degree Celsius (0.57 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the previous hottest November. Moreover, the month was 1.75 degrees Celsius (3.15 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial levels. These figures place November behind September in terms of the hottest above-average temperatures for any month, marking a concerning trend.
The Deputy Director of Copernicus, Samantha Burgess, expressed astonishment at the persistent trend of escalating temperatures, noting that scientists are struggling to find suitable words to describe the severity of the situation.
Throughout November, the average temperature was recorded at 14.22 degrees Celsius (57.6 degrees Fahrenheit), marking an 0.85 degrees Celsius (1.5 degrees Fahrenheit) increase compared to the average over the last 30 years. Burgess highlighted that two days during the month reached temperatures 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than pre-industrial levels, a previously unprecedented occurrence.
Assessing the year-to-date, 2023 stands at 1.46 degrees Celsius (2.6 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial times, inching remarkably close to surpassing the previous warmest year of 2016 by about a seventh of a degree. This warming trend aligns closely with the international threshold outlined in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which aimed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
As the United Nations climate conference convened in Dubai for nearly two weeks, discussions among diplomats, scientists, activists, and stakeholders revolved around strategies to curb warming to the agreed-upon levels. However, prevailing data indicates that the planet is not aligning with these efforts.
Scientific projections, factoring in global promises and actions taken by countries worldwide, paint a concerning picture. Earth is on track to warm by 2.7 to 2.9 degrees Celsius (4.9 to 5.2 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. The assessment also underscores that the recent northern autumn stands as the hottest fall ever recorded.
Scientific records, whether from Copernicus dating back to 1940 or United States government records tracing back to 1850, indicate the unparalleled nature of the current warming trend. Additionally, evidence from proxies like ice cores, tree rings, and corals suggest that this decade stands as the warmest in approximately 125,000 years, predating human civilization. The last several months, in particular, have been identified as the hottest within this timeframe.
Scientists identify two primary contributors to this prolonged streak of record-breaking temperatures. Human-induced climate change resulting from the burning of fossil fuels acts as a continuous escalator of warming. Concurrently, natural climate patterns, such as the El Nino-La Nina cycle, act as intermittent influences on top of the ongoing climate change.
The potent El Nino observed currently is temporarily warming parts of the central Pacific, thereby exerting further influence on global weather patterns and compounding the already escalated temperatures due to climate change.
Samantha Burgess emphasized the inevitability of further warming as long as greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, warning of catastrophic consequences such as floods, fires, heatwaves, and droughts that will persist without substantial intervention.
Highlighting the urgency of addressing reliance on fossil fuels, Burgess stressed the potential for 2023 to be remembered as a cooler year in the future if immediate action isn't taken to mitigate climate change.

IndraStra Global is now available on
Apple News, Google News, Feedly, Flipboard, and  WhatsApp Channel

COPYRIGHT: This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

REPUBLISH: Republish our articles online or in print for free if you follow these guidelines. https://www.indrastra.com/p/republish-us.html