Copernicus Climate Change Service: 2023 has been the warmest year ever
Last year has been the warmest on record. These are the words of Copernicus Climate Change Service, the EU programme for monitoring Earth, which survey our planet and its environment.
This European Commission’s programme is performed in cooperation with the member states, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (the European operational satellite agency for monitoring weather), CEPMMT (the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) and Mercator Océan.
The analysis of the data summoned for 2023 was much longed for. The result states that the average global temperature has exceeded 1,48 °C above the pre-industrial level, i.e. that between 1850 and 1900. Moreover, last year has also overcome the record of warmest year ever, up to now reserved to 2016. And for the first time, right in 2023 each day exceeded 1 °C the pre-industrial level. Last but not least: the half of the days have been 1,5°C warmer than the lapse 1850-1900 and two days in November have been 2 °C warmer (it is the first time ever recorded).
This means that each month last year, from June to December, was warmer than the corresponding month in any previous year. The last one, December, was the warmest ever recorded globally, with an average temperature of 13,51 °C.
According to Copernicus Climate Change Service, the datum does not mean that we have overtaken the limits fixed by Paris agreement, but it sets a dire precedent.
The reason of this new record can be due to two different factors. On the one hand, to the natural phenomenon El Niño, whose effects will be perceivable also in the next months. On the other, the usual responsibility of humankind, with its use of fossil fuels.
What’s worries most are the effects. In fact, the temperature increase produces an exponential rise in extreme phenomena, like those we experienced in 2023 - just think about the disastrous flood in Emilia Romagna and Tuscany, or the fires in Sicily.
