Shillong, October 5: As September unfolded, it marked the fourth consecutive month of this year to experience unprecedented temperatures, setting 2023 on a path to potentially becoming the hottest year in recorded history. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service delivered this concerning news.
Data disclosed by the Service, as reported by CNN, indicated that September shattered the previous monthly temperature record set in 2020 by an astounding 0.5 degrees Celsius. This extraordinary temperature surge made September the hottest month ever recorded since Copernicus began keeping records in 1940.
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, remarked, “The unprecedented temperatures for the time of year observed in September — following a record summer — have broken records by an extraordinary amount.”
The global air temperature in September averaged 16.38 degrees Celsius, surpassing the 1991 to 2020 average by 0.93 degrees Celsius and the pre-industrial era’s September average by 1.75 degrees Celsius, a period before significant fossil fuel consumption began.
September also witnessed tragic floods in Libya, Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives. Canada faced an unparalleled wildfire season, while parts of South America experienced scorching temperatures. New York grappled with record rainfall, leading to flooding.
Ocean temperatures were not exempt from this trend. Sea surface temperatures averaged 20.92 degrees Celsius in September, marking a record high for that month and the second-highest ever recorded in any month, following August of the same year. Furthermore, Antarctic sea ice reached historically low levels for this season.
Given these extraordinary events, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has calculated the likelihood of 2023 becoming the hottest year on record at over 93 percent.
