A heat wave hit nearly every corner of the globe in 2023, sending temperatures into record territory.
According to preliminary climate data from NOAA and analysis from the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, the global temperature anomaly ended 2016 higher than the record 0.99 degrees Celsius (1.78 degrees Fahrenheit) above average.
December’s global observations are still being analyzed, but the annual temperature anomaly could end up well over 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above average – the first time the annual average temperature has topped 1 degree Celsius.
The news should come as no surprise as NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information, Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization all said it was a virtual guarantee that 2023 would end at record levels.
In fact, NOAA climatologists say in November there is a greater than 99% chance the year will end up being the hottest on Earth – a percentage rarely used in the meteorological community because of the potential for error.
The agency reports that record keeping began in 1880, and all years spanning the last decade were the warmest periods on record.
What causes hot records? Some forecasters are pointing to the emergence of a strong El Niño weather pattern – the first in four years.
In 2023, the global temperature anomaly will be higher than the 2016 record of 0.99 degrees Celsius (1.78 degrees Fahrenheit) above average. Getty Images
Every El Niño episode in modern history has produced the warmest period, only to be surpassed by the next El Niño event.
Researchers estimate the 2016 El Niño event was directly responsible for only about 0.12 degrees Celsius (0.22 degrees Fahrenheit) of the 0.99 degrees Celsius (1.78 degrees Fahrenheit) anomaly, meaning other weather features and climate change may have played a more prominent role. than admitted.
The record heat helped in the development of significant drought conditions across Australia, South America and Canada.
America’s northern neighbor experienced their worst wildfire season in history, with nearly 46 million acres destroyed by fire – a figure nearly three times greater than the previous record holder.
The US is also seeing the effects of wildfires, with historically poor air quality and smoke-filled skies.
The record heat helped in the development of significant drought conditions across Australia, South America and Canada. NASA
The true toll that heat plays on economies and lives is a figure that may not be known for years, as researchers’ best estimates come from studies rather than unreliable data from countries around the world.
A recent study published in The Lancet Planet Health estimates that about 500,000 deaths per year can be attributed to extreme heat worldwide, while the causality figure during extreme cold is almost 4.5 million.
US monthly temperature
Unlike the global record, the contiguous US did not have its hottest year. Over the first 11 months of the year, the country hovered around an anomalous 1.1 degrees Celsius (nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit) above average, which is hot enough for a top 10 finish.
The cold end of winter and start of spring in 2023 caused the year to miss the 2012 record of 1.81 degrees Celsius (3.26 degrees Fahrenheit) above average.
Heat waves have become more common in summer and fall. NOAA
Despite a cool start to the year, heat waves abound across the country during summer and autumn.
In June, Puerto Rico was one of the first regions to experience life-threatening heat.
A ridge of high pressure caused some days to reach the 90s with a heat index outside of San Juan of 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat spread westward into the southern US in July, with Death Valley, California, nearing an all-time world record of 134 degrees Fahrenheit and Phoenix reporting 31 consecutive days of at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Towards the end of summer, a heat wave engulfs the Midwest and Northeast.
Chicago recorded its hottest heat index at 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and New York City recorded a reading of 90 degrees in September.
Not only are the summer months typically hot, but above-average temperatures stretch into winter.
According to early weather observations, December is on track to end with temperatures at least 5 degrees Fahrenheit above average for the contiguous US as a whole.
Record low sea ice
The combined amount of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice hovers at an all-year record low.
According to NOAA’s National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the amount of sea ice around Antarctica, at its usual maximum, was at its lowest in September. Satellite data estimates an area of 6.55 million square miles – about the size of Mexico and the US combined.
“It’s a record-breaking sea ice low in Antarctica,” Walt Meier, a sea ice scientist at NSIDC, stated. “Sea ice growth appears to be lower around almost the entire continent than in any one region.”
Texas has the warmest temperature increase in the US in 2023. Iowa Environmental Mesonet / FOX Weather
Analysis calculated Arctic sea ice reached a minimum of just 1.6 million square miles in September.
This is the sixth lowest minimum on record, which spans approximately 45 years.
“It’s more open there than it used to be,” Meier added. “There also seems to be more loose ice and lower concentration – even towards the Arctic – and areas that used to be quite dense, ice sheets are dense throughout the summer. That’s happening more often in recent years.”
Larger exposed ocean areas help absorb more of the Sun’s energy, leading to increased planetary warming and decreased ice growth.
It’s important to note that agencies have different methodologies for determining global temperature and sea ice extent, so records may vary. That data doesn’t minimize the year’s steady march into records unprecedented in human history.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
