Global temperature briefly exceeds 2 C above pre-industrial average

By Alvin Wu
Science and Technology
Global temperature briefly exceeds 2 C above pre-industrial average

Daily global surface air temperature anomaly for 1940-2023 with reference to the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period. C3S, ECMWF/Graph

Dec. 2 (ZFJ) — Earth’s temperature exceeded 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels on Nov. 17-18, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

Nov. 17 marked the first day in the ERA5 dataset, the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts’ climate record, that global temperatures exceeded 2 C above the average temperature before the extensive use of fossil fuels.

Nov. 17 exceeded the 1850-1900 average by 2.07 C, while Nov. 18 was 2.06 C above.

The Paris Agreement, a 2015 international treaty on climate change, binds nations to limiting warming to under 1.5 C above the pre-industrial average. Its ultimate goal is to prevent warming 2.0 C above the average before the end of the century.

“While exceeding the 2 C threshold for a number of days does not mean that we have breached the Paris Agreement targets, the more often that we exceed this threshold, the more serious the cumulative effects of these breaches will become,” said C3S Director Carlo Buontempo.

Climate scientists and the World Meteorological Organization, the U.N. weather agency, have continually warned that 2023 is set to be the warmest year on record.

C3S’ announcement follows July, the hottest month on record globally, the warmest summer on record, and the warmest September and October on record. November 2023 is also set to be the warmest November on record, according to C3S.

Daily global surface air temperature anomaly for 1940-2023 with reference to the 1991-2020 average. C3S, ECMWF/Graph Daily global surface air temperature anomaly for 1940-2023 with reference to the 1991-2020 average. C3S, ECMWF/Graph

The latest U.N. Conference of the Parties, COP28, is meeting from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in a bid for countries to figure out ways to still adhere to the Paris Agreement thresholds.

References