October becomes fifth month in row of record warm global temperatures: C3S

New Delhi: According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), October was the fifth month in a row of record-warm global temperatures.

WMO will confirm this in its provisional State of the Global Climate 2023 report, which will be released on 30 November on the opening day of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP28.

“The average sea surface temperature for October over 60°S–60°N was 20.79°C, the highest on record for October,” C3S said in a statement.

The agency said, “January to October, the global mean temperature for 2023 is the highest on record, 1.43°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average, and 0.10°C higher than the ten-month average for 2016.

“This means that 2023 is almost certain to be the warmest year on record,” it said.

In order to provide a longer-term perspective for decision-makers at COP28, WMO will also issue a State of the Global Climate 2011-2020 decadal report.

Its annual report on the drivers of climate change – greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities – will be released on 15 November.

Meanwhile, October marked the sixth consecutive month that Antarctic sea ice extent remained at record low levels for the time of year, with a monthly value 11% below average. Arctic sea ice extent reached its 7th lowest value for October, at 12% below average.

The agency warned that the El Niño conditions continued to develop in the equatorial Pacific, although anomalies remain lower than those reached at this time of year during the development of the historically strong 1997 and 2015 events.

“In October 2023, precipitation was above average across most of Europe: Storm Babet hit northern Europe, and storm Aline impacted Portugal and Spain, bringing heavy precipitation and flooding” it said.