2023: The Hottest Year Ever
Originally Published 2 years ago — by Yale Climate Connections
November 2023 was the hottest November on record globally, with temperatures surpassing the previous record by a significant margin. Land and ocean areas both experienced their warmest November on record, and it was the eighth consecutive month with record-high global ocean temperatures. El Niño conditions intensified in the eastern tropical Pacific, reaching the "strong" category. Arctic sea ice extent was the seventh-lowest on record, while Antarctic sea ice extent was the second-lowest, indicating a regime shift to a new state of inevitable decline caused by ocean warming. The year 2023 is virtually certain to be the warmest on record globally, with a greater than 99.5% chance, and there is a possibility that 2024 could be even warmer.