global temperatures.
What scientists do not know yet is whether 2023’s extreme heat is a sign that global warming is accelerating.
“Whether there’s been a phase shift or a tipping point, or it’s an anomalously warm year, we need more time and more scientific studies to understand,” C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess said.
Each fraction of temperature increase exacerbates destructive weather disasters. In 2023, the hotter planet aggravated deadly heatwaves from China to Europe, extreme rain which caused floods killing thousands of people in Libya and Canada’s worst wildfire season on record.
“Comparable small changes in global temperatures have huge impacts on people and ecosystems,” Friederike Otto, a climate scientist who co-leads the World Weather Attribution global research collaboration, said.
“Every tenth of a degree matters,” she added.
The economic consequences of climate change are also escalating. The U.S. suffered at least 25 climate and weather disasters with damages exceeding $1 billion, while droughts ravaged soybean crops in Argentina and wheat in Spain. (Source: Reuters)
