According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), 2023 was the hottest year on record, with the average global surface air temperature reaching 14.98 degrees Celsius (°C).
This figure represents an anomaly of +0.6 °C compared to the average temperature between 1991 and 2020. This is the highest temperature anomaly increase ever recorded by C3S.
C3S notes that compared to the average temperature of the pre-industrial era (1850-1900), the global temperature in 2023 had risen by 1.48 °C.
2023 also marks the first year where the daily global temperature consistently exceeded the average daily temperature of the pre-industrial era by >1 °C.
"The temperatures throughout 2023 were likely higher than any period in recorded history, at least in the last 100,000 years," said Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the C3S Climate Change Service, in a press release on Tuesday (January 9, 2024).
Similar sentiments were expressed by Carlo Buontempo, Director of the C3S Climate Change Service.
"The extreme events we have observed in recent months provide dramatic testimony to how far our climate has already changed," said Carlo.
"If we want to successfully manage climate risks, we need to rapidly decarbonize the economy and use climate data to prepare for the future," he added.