Records In A Bad Way

Sigh. An international report lists our recent bad climate records. Here’s the list. Sadly, none of this is truly new news.

• Record temperatures notable across the globe. The annual global surface temperature was ~1F (~0.6C) above the 1991–2020 average making 2023 the warmest year since records began in the mid-to-late 1800s. The last nine years (2015–2023) were the nine warmest on record.
• Earth’s greenhouse gas concentrations were the highest on record. Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide reached record high concentrations in 2023. Global mean CO2 has increased from 0.6 ± 0.1 parts per million (ppm) per year in the early 1960s to an average of 2.5 ppm per year during the last decade of 2014–2023.
• Ocean heat and global sea level were the highest on record. Global mean sea level hit a record high for the 12th-consecutive year, reaching ~4.0 inches (101.4 mm) above the 1993 average.
• Heatwaves and droughts contributed to massive wildfires around the world. Approximately 37 million acres burned across Canada.
• Antarctic sea ice set record lows throughout 2023. On February 21, 2023, Antarctic sea ice extent and sea ice area both reached all-time record lows.

We’re hotter, more polluted, flooding, on fire, and melting. And too many people think nothing is going on. Too many people think there’s no reason to act, or that we can act later. Later is now. Wow.