2023 has been the warmest year since the climatological parameters are recorded. Although there were older precedents, this occurred in 1927, when the World Meteorological Organization created the World Weather Records (WWR).
The function of this organization was to collect data from hundreds of weather stations, as well as recover data already stored in them. Thanks to this last aspect, we can tell you that There are reliable climatological records since 1880. Therefore, 2023 has been the warmest year since that last date. Next, we are going to explain why.
The warmest year since the end of the 19th century
Some days in 2023 exceeded forty degrees Celsius
A year ago, almost no one predicted that 2023 would be so hot. In fact, in its first months there were only a handful of days that set climate records. However, starting in June, those records have happenedEvery day has beaten the record for that date of the year, making 2023 one of the warmest years on record.
For nearly two hundred days, temperatures have soared above the usual seasonal temperature. Even sea temperatures have reached unprecedented levels. We all know that the effects of pollution are wreaking havoc on the climate in particular and on the nature of our planet in general. For years, we have been suffering. un global warming which only increases. But the year 2023 was, on average, 1,48 degrees Celsius warmer than those before the Industrial Revolution. This may not seem like much, but it is not so, quite the opposite.
La United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, at their meeting in Paris in 2015, agreed that a rise in temperatures greater than 1,5 degrees. It is true that this purpose was proposed for a period of twenty or thirty years. But it is not good news that 1,48 will have been reached in 2023. Fortunately, the causes of this phenomenon are known and solutions can be proposed.
Causes of this temperature record
Floods caused by El Niño
2023 has been the warmest year on record for two main reasons. The first is human action itself. We continue to send greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and do not meet the international climate goals proposed by experts.
But the second cause is also very important. Is about the effects of El Niño, a famous climatic event that occurs in the Eastern Pacific Ocean every so often (ranges between three and seven years). Broadly speaking, it consists of the warming of ocean waters due to instabilities in atmospheric pressure. It causes torrential rains in the intertropical regions and gives way to a subsequent cooling phase known as the girl.
The fact is that El Niño had its peak in the last months of 2023 and will last until the first months of 2024. In turn, this circumstance has surprised meteorologists, who cannot fully explain everything that happened last year. For example, Zeke Hausfather, a climate expert at Berkeley Earth, said: “This raises a lot of really interesting questions about why 2023 was so warm.”
For its part, Andrew Dessler, professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Texas, said: "what caught my attention was not that 2023 broke records, but the number of times it broke previous ones." But, in addition, we must talk to you about the consequences of all this.
Consequences of the warmest year
Drought is one of the most obvious effects of global warming
During 2023, we have all been able to feel that it was warmer than usual for each time of the year. This is not new, but rather shows a trend that has been observed since 1990. Between this year and 2020, temperatures were already 0,9 degrees Celsius warmer than before industrialization.
But we already told you that 2023 has broken all records. As a result, many of the extreme weather events that occur on our planet have gotten worse. It is the case of the heat waves, which have been longer and more intense. For example, it is enough to mention the one that devastated Europe y North America in July of last year and which caused devastating forest fires in Canada y United StatesYou can read more about the extreme heat in this article about what it was like. summer in Spain.
It is also the case of the droughts who has suffered African continent, especially in its eastern part. Furthermore, to make the situation even more serious, this area had already experienced five failed rainy seasons in previous years.
And, although it may seem contradictory, there have also been major floods. For example, the devastating things he suffered Libya in September after a cyclone. Not in vain, according to experts, for every degree Celsius that the average temperature increases, the atmosphere contains 7% more humidity.
But the consequences of the warming caused by the warmest year, which was 2023, do not end there. We have already talked to you about the increase in marine temperatures, which they have broken records almost uninterrupted since the month of May, even in the always freezing North Atlantic. Furthermore, the sea ice of the Arctic and the Antarctic have reached unprecedented lows. Even the enormous glaciers of western North America and the Alps Europeans have suffered extreme snowmelt seasons. In turn, this has raised sea levels.
Prospects for the future
Arctic ice has been decreasing for years
As you have seen, the prospects are not good at all. In fact, according to the aforementioned Dr. Hausfather: "2024 could be even warmer than the year just ended, as some of the record heat from the ocean surface escapes into the atmosphere, although the strange behavior of the current El Niño makes it difficult to be sure."
For its part, the UK Met Office has raised the possibility that, for the first time, 2024 exceeds the threshold of 1,5 degrees Celsius every month. We have already indicated to you that this is the limit that the Paris Climate Agreement 2015. However, as it was set for a period of twenty or thirty years, we can still reverse this excess.
In conclusion, 2023 has been the warmest year since records exist. Since May, all temperature records have been shattered, which has caused different natural disasters. And everything indicates that 2024 will be even worse. The effects of air pollution are to blame, but so is the phenomenon of Boys contributes to increasing temperatures. It is in everyone's hands to avoid harm. Dare to collaborate on it.
