The year 2023 was the hottest on record, with the increase in Earth’s surface temperature nearly crossing the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Climate change intensified heatwaves, droughts and wildfires across the planet, and pushed the global thermometer 1.48 C above the preindustrial benchmark, the Copernicus Climate Change Service reported. “It is also the first year with all days over one degree warmer than the pre-industrial period. “Temperatures during 2023 likely exceed those of any period in at least the last 100,000 years,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy head of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Oceans absorb more than 90 percent of excess heat caused by human activity, and play a major role in regulating Earth’s climate.

Source: Punch January 10, 2024 02:07 UTC