‘Climate breakdown begun’ Year 2023 shaping to be hottest year on record

New Delhi: Given that climate change and greenhouse gases are causing the earth’s surface temperature to rise day by day, it would be difficult for humans and other animals to survive on the planet.

According to the latest bulletin of Copernicus Climate Change Service, (C3S) August was the hottest on record by a large margin, and it was the second hottest ever month after July 2023.

“August as a whole is estimated to have been around 1.5°C warmer than the preindustrial average for 1850-1900,” said C3S.

The world’s oceans more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface were the hottest ever recorded at at 20.98°C. Temperatures exceeded the previous record (March 2016) every single day in August.

“Climate breakdown has begun,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

“Leaders must turn up the heat now for climate solutions. We can still avoid the worst of climate chaos and we don’t have a moment to lose” he said.

The year so far (January to August) is the second warmest on record behind 2016, when there was a powerful warming El Niño event.

Scientists blame ever-warming human-caused climate change on the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas with an extra push from a natural El Nino, which is a temporary warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean that changes weather worldwide.

As per C3S, the Antarctic sea ice extent remained at a record low level for the time of year, with a monthly value of 12% below average.

“Arctic sea ice extent was 10% below average, but well above the record minimum of August 2012,” it said.

“Antarctic sea ice extent was literally off the charts, and the global sea surface temperature was once again at a new record. It is worth noting that this is happening before we see the full warming impact of the El Niño event, which typically plays out in the second year after it develops” says World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.

“What we are observing, not only new extremes but the persistence of these record-breaking conditions, and the impacts these have on both people and planet, are a clear consequence of the warming of the climate system,” comments Carlo Buontempo, Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, ECMWF.

WMO consolidates data from C3S and five other international datasets for its climate monitoring activities and its State of the Climate reports.