World weather body says 2023 was hottest year ever

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Tuesday that 2023 was by far the hottest year ever recorded, with record surges in extreme climate events, including ocean warming.

"Climate change is about much more than temperatures. What we witnessed in 2023, especially with the unprecedented ocean warmth, glacier retreat and Antarctic sea ice loss, is cause for particular concern," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said at a UN press conference.

Heat waves, floods, droughts, wildfires and rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones caused misery and mayhem, upending everyday life for millions and inflicting many billions of dollars in economic losses, the WMO State of the Global Climate 2023 report shows.

The WMO report confirmed that 2023 was the warmest year on record, with the global average near-surface temperature at 1.45C (with a margin of uncertainty of ± 0.12C) above the pre-industrial baseline.

It was also the warmest 10-year period on record.

"Never have we been so close – albeit on a temporary basis at the moment – to the 1.5C lower limit of the Paris Agreement on climate change," said Saulo. "The WMO community is sounding the Red Alert to the world."

The report said the period between 2014 and 2023 was the "hottest 10-year period" in history, approximately 1.20C above the average of 1850-1900.

Record temperatures seen globally every month from June to December of 2023 showed that the largest temperature increase was experienced in September, with a rise of around 0.46-0.54C, according to the report.

On an average day in 2023, nearly a third of the global ocean was gripped by a marine heat wave, harming vital ecosystems and food systems.

Toward the end of 2023, over 90% of the ocean had experienced heat wave conditions at some point during the year.

Preliminary data shows that the global set of reference glaciers suffered the most significant ice loss on record (since 1950), driven by extreme melt in both western North America and Europe.

Antarctic sea ice extent was by far the lowest on record, with the maximum extent at the end of winter at 1 million square kilometers below the previous record year -- equivalent to the size of France and Germany combined.

"The climate crisis is the defining challenge that humanity faces and is closely intertwined with the inequality crisis—as witnessed by growing food insecurity, population displacement and biodiversity loss," Saulo said.

The number of people acutely food insecure worldwide has more than doubled, from 149 million before the COVID-19 pandemic to 333 million in 2023, according to the WMO, citing 78 countries monitored by the World Food Program.

According to the report, the WMO said that weather and climate extremes may not be the root cause, but they are aggravating factors.

However, weather hazards continued to trigger displacement in 2023, indicating how climate shocks undermine resilience and create new protection risks among the most vulnerable populations.

The report pointed to a glimmer of hope in renewable energy generation, primarily driven by the dynamic forces of solar radiation, wind and the water cycle, that has surged to the forefront of climate action for its potential to achieve decarbonization targets.

In 2023, renewable capacity additions increased by almost 50% from 2022 for a total of 510 gigawatts (GW)—the highest rate observed in the past two decades, according to the WMO.