2023, the hottest year on record?

2023 could be the hottest year on record

Recently, the temperature in many places in northern my country has exceeded 40℃, making many people "doubt life because of the heat."

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In fact, it is not just my country that is being "scorched", but the whole world. Researchers said that with the soaring temperature of the world's oceans and the arrival of El Nino in the Pacific Ocean, 2023 may become the hottest year on record, and the earth is heading towards "unknown territory".

Previously, the hottest year on record was 2016, and this month's temperature record shows that temperatures in 2023 may be close to 2016. Data from the European Union's Earth observation program, Copernicus, showed that the peak temperature occurred on June 9, when the global average temperature was 16.7°C, just 0.1°C lower than the highest temperature on record on August 13, 2016.

It is worth noting that while human-driven climate change is still heating up the world, there is no evidence that the process has accelerated this year.

In addition to the current 1.3°C warming caused by climate change, specific warming conditions have superimposed on the record-breaking temperature records. For months, scientists have been warning that sea surface temperatures have been at record highs due to a series of marine heatwaves around the world. On June 11, the North Atlantic Ocean reached a maximum temperature of 22.7°C, 0.5°C higher than the previous record in June 2010.

El Nino, which causes ocean warming, is new and will peak at the end of the year. So, what is causing the ocean to be so hot?

Samantha Burgess, a member of the Copernicus mission, believes that changes in atmospheric dynamics that have weakened the trade winds are the most likely cause. In the North Atlantic, weaker winds may have reduced the amount of dust blown in from the Sahara, which normally helps cool the ocean.

"It's amazing to see ocean and air temperatures soaring for this time of year. What's been observed so far suggests that 2023 could be one of the five warmest years," Burgess said. "Never before in human history have the oceans been this 'warm' and the air temperatures are on track to break records. We are in uncharted territory."

Although both El Nino and climate change are the result of this year’s high temperatures, they are very different from those in 2016. In 2016, the peak temperatures were concentrated in Siberia and the Arctic; in 2023, high temperatures occurred in many regions, including Antarctica.

In recent months, there has been growing concern about the decline of Antarctic sea ice, as in February this year, the Antarctic sea ice area was only 1.79 million square kilometers, setting a record low sea ice area. Although the sea ice is slowly increasing as winter approaches, the area is still far below the average and the growth rate is much slower than in the past.

Source: China Science Daily

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