In October, the global temperature hit a historic high, surpassing the pre-industrial average by 1.7 degrees Celsius (3.1 degrees Fahrenheit) — marking the fifth straight record-breaking month of warmth in what is projected to be the hottest year ever recorded.
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, expressed astonishment at the 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.7 degrees Fahrenheit) difference from the previous October record set in 2019. The European climate agency that routinely publishes monthly bulletins monitoring global surface air and sea temperatures stated, “The amount that we’re smashing records by is shocking.”
Copernicus predicts that 2023 will be the hottest year on record due to the cumulative warming observed in recent months. This ongoing trend of warming is linked to human-generated greenhouse gas emissions, which have led to more extreme weather events, according to Peter Schlosser, vice president of the Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University.
As oceans warm, they are doing less to counteract global warming, having historically absorbed as much as 90% of the excess heat from climate change. Also contributing to the record heat is El Nino, which is expected to result in additional warming in the coming months, according to Burgess.
The world is already exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warming goal set by the Paris Agreement, and scientists stress the urgent need for action to curb planet-warming emissions.
The planet hasn’t yet seen the full impact of the warming, and the consequences of burning fossil fuels are increasingly clear. According to climate scientist Friederike Otto, the true cost of continuing to burn fossil fuels is much higher than the cost of ceasing, as the suffering of people and systems affected by climate change continues to grow.
AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein contributed to this report from Washington.
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