2023 was officially the hottest year on RECORD

Scientists have long suspected it but now it's official – 2023 was the hottest year on record.

Last year's global average temperature was 58.96°F (14.98°C), around 0.3°F (0.17°C) higher than the result in 2016, the previous hottest year, experts from the EU's Copernicus climate change programme (CS3) reveal.

The scientists have already revealed that last summer was the hottest season on record, while July was the hottest month on record.

Experts warn that global temperatures are now close to the 2.7°F (1.5°C) limit – and they point to greenhouse gas emissions as the cause.

2023 has already been dubbed the year Earth suffered the costliest climate disasters like droughts, floods, wildfires and lethal heatwaves, largely due to these emissions. +11 View gallery

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2023 is confirmed as the warmest calendar year in global temperature data records going back to 1850. The global average air temperature was 58.96°F (14.98°C), around 0.3°F (0.17°C) higher than the result in 2016 +11 View gallery

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2023 has already been dubbed the year Earth suffered costly climate disasters like droughts, floods, wildfires and lethal heatwaves. Pictured, a man recoils as a fire burns into the village of Gennadi on the Greek Aegean island of Rhodes, July 25, 2023 Advertisement

Brits may find the new record hard to believe as the country was hit by cold air and rain through much of the year and endured a mild summer, despite heatwaves around mainland Europe.

In Britain, this July was the sixth wettest British July on record, despite June being the hottest British June on record.

However, CS3 gives an average for the year for the entire world – so chillier-than-usual conditions in a single country does not tell the whole story.

'2023 was an exceptional year with climate records tumbling like dominoes,' said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S.

'Temperatures during 2023 likely exceed those of any period in at least the last 100,000 years.' C3S, managed by the European Commission, looks at temperature readings based on a variety of platforms and instruments, from weather stations to weather balloons and satellites.

The department's readings refer to the average air temperature for the whole planet over the whole year – so lower than a single typically 'hot' temperature reading. +11 View gallery

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Scientists are increasingly linking extreme weather events with the warming of the planet, which is being largely caused by carbon emissions from fossil fuels. For example, warmer air can hold more moisture - meaning more intense rainfall and flooding. Pictured, a man pulls a bag of goods salvaged from a building as he wades through floodwaters on August 5, 2023 in Zhuozhou, Hebei Province south of Beijing, China +11 View gallery

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A man cools off at a temporary misting station deployed by the city in the Downtown Eastside due to a heat wave, in Vancouver, British Columbia, August 16, 2023 +11 View gallery

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Brits may find the new record hard to believe as the country was hit by cold air and rain through much of the summer, despite heatwaves around mainland Europe. However, CS3 gives an average for the year for the entire world - so chillier-than-usual conditions in a single country does not tell the whole story. Pictured, holidaymakers on the beach in Weymouth, Dorset on July 31, 2023 Advertisement

Not only was 2023 the hottest year on record, but it marks the first time that every day within a year has gone 1.8°F (1°C) above the 'pre-industrial' average (the average between 1850 and 1900).

In fact, nearly half of the 365 days in 2023 were more than 2.7°F (1.5°C) warmer then the 1850-1900 level, while two days in November were, for the first time, more than 3.6°F (2°C) warmer.

This is a worry because a global aim is to keep the average global temperature within 3.6°F (2°C) and if possible 2.7°F (1.5°C) as part of the Paris Agreement, a binding climate treaty signed in 2016.

Fortunately, the news doesn't mean we've surpassed the limits set by the Paris Agreement (as they refer to periods of at least 20 years where this average temperature anomaly is exceeded) but the new record for 2023 'sets a dire precedent'.

'The extremes we have observed over the last few months provide a dramatic testimony of how far we now are from the climate in which our civilisation developed,' said Carlo Buontempo, director of C3S.

'This has profound consequences for the Paris Agreement and all human endeavours.' +11 View gallery

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A Canadair firefighting plane sprays water during a fire in Dervenochoria, north-west of Athens, on July 19, 2023 +11 View gallery

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A woman cools herself with a fan as temperatures due to sweltering conditions in Rome, July 18, 2023 +11 View gallery

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In 2023, two days in November (17 and 18) were, for the first time, more than 3.6°F (2°C) warmer than the 'pre-industrial' average +11 View gallery

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Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane (the two most important greenhouse gases) continued to increase and reached record levels in 2023 Advertisement

2023 set the record for warmest ever year largely due to 'unprecedented' global temperatures from June onwards, fueled mainly by greenhouse gases.

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane (the two most important greenhouse gases) continued to increase and reached record levels in 2023.

What's more, each month from June to December in 2023 was warmer than the corresponding month in any previous year.

Several months of 2023 were the hottest on record for that particular month, such as September, November and December, as well as July (not only the hottest July ever but the hottest month ever).

Looking at Europe separately from the rest of the world, 2023 was the second-warmest year on record, after 2020.

In Europe, last year was 0.3°F (0.17°C) cooler than 2020 (Europe's warmest year on record) but temperatures were still above average for 11 months of 2023.

CS3's main metric for measuring how hot it is, is the temperature of the air, but it also keeps track of temperatures of the world's oceans. ... Drone footage captures extent of wildfire devastation in Lahaina Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipLIVEMute00:00Current Time 0:00/Duration Time 2:58FullscreenNeed TextVideo Quality576p540p360p270pForeground---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-OpaqueBackground---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindow---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyDefaultMonospace SerifProportional SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional Sans-SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsDefaultsDoneMinimizeExpandClose +11 View gallery

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Air surface temperatures are usually the main metric looked at when considering temperature rises, but ocean temperatures are key indicators too. Advertisement

Namely it looks at sea surface temperature – how hot the water is close to the ocean's surface.

Unfortunately, it also registered new records here for 2023 as well, with 'persistently and unusually high' sea surface temperature anomalies.

Global average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) reached record levels from April through December, while August had the highest global monthly average sea surface temperature on record, at 69.76°F (20.98°C).

As well as greenhouse gases, the experts blame the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) for high ocean temperatures.

ENSO is a pattern of natural climate variability that sees ocean temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific switch between cooler (La Niña) and warmer (El Niño) than average conditions – influencing temperature and weather globally.

However, the transition to El Niño alone does not explain all of the increase in ocean surface temperatures globally in 2023, CS3 says.

With the reliance on fossil fuels for energy generation still persistent into 2024, there's every possibility this year could break the record just set by 2023.

'If we want to successfully manage our climate risk portfolio, we need to urgently decarbonise our economy whilst using climate data and knowledge to prepare for the future,' said Buontempo. Advertisement

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