2023 is on track to become the hottest year in history according to Copernicus, Europe’s Climate Change Service. November was the sixth consecutive month to break records: with an average daily temperature of 14.22 degrees Celsius, exceeding 2020’s record by 0.32 degrees.
“There have been new records for six months in a row and two seasons. This extraordinary November means that 2023 will be the hottest year since records began,” said Samantha Burgess, the deputy director of the service.
Additionally, between January and November, the average temperature was 1.46 degrees above averages recorded in the pre-industrial period and 0.13 degrees above 2016’s record, the year that held the record until now, reported the Bonn-based institute.
Copernicus’s new report comes as negotiators in Dubai are preparing to wrap up their first week of talks at COP28.
Wednesday’s sessions will focus on transport, the second-leading sector for carbon dioxide emissions with panels on building EV charging infrastructure and decarbonising urban freight transportation.
Despite the rapid growth of electric vehicles in some countries, oil still accounts for nearly 91% of the energy used in the transport sector, according to the International Energy Agency.
And it’s a sector that includes hard-to-decarbonise industries like aviation and shipping, where cutting emissions will require big ramp-ups in the production of sustainable aviation fuel, for aeroplanes, and alternative fuels like hydrogen for ships.
Our journalists are working on this story and will update it as more information comes in.
