2023 Confirmed as Hottest Year Ever Recorded

Scientists warn 2024 could be even hotter, potentially surpassing a critical 1.5 degrees Celsius global average temperature benchmark.

2023 was officially the hottest year ever recorded, with a global average temperature of 14.98 degrees Celsius, 0.17 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record-breaking year in 2016.
For the first time in recorded history, each day of the year was at least 1 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial level, with two days in November reaching more than 2 degrees Celsius above that norm.
The record-breaking temperatures were primarily driven by human-caused climate change and the El Niño weather pattern, with additional contributions from natural ocean variations, increased solar activity and the 2022 eruption of an underwater volcano in Tonga.
The U.K.'s Met Office predicts that 2024 could become the first year ever documented to surpass a global average temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius, the internationally agreed-upon benchmark for limiting warming.
Unless emissions are quickly cut, temperatures will continue to rise, leading to more extreme weather events, including catastrophic floods, fires, heat waves, and droughts.