2023 on track to become hottest year on record as UN weather agency urges solution to climate change

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) – The UN weather agency on Thursday declared that 2023 is on track to become the hottest year on record, underscoring the urgency of addressing climate change.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued a warning and highlighted concerning trends that point to a future marked by escalating floods, wildfires, glacier melt, and heat waves.

According to the WMO, the average global temperature for 2023 has risen by approximately 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial times.

This is a mere 0.1 degrees below the target limit set by the Paris climate accord in 2015, designed to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century.

Carbon dioxide levels have surged to a staggering 50% above those recorded in the pre-industrial era and "temperatures will continue to rise for many years to come," the global weather agency said.

This alarming increase indicates that temperatures are set to continue rising for an extended period, even if drastic emission reduction measures are implemented, it added.

The agency also highlighted that the period from 2015 to 2023 is the warmest on record.

Despite the findings covering data up to October, the WMO asserts that the last two months of the year are unlikely to be enough to prevent 2023 from becoming the hottest year ever recorded.