‘Hottest year’ of 2023 records least amount of sea ice and glaciers; 90% of the ocean was under heatwave conditions: WMO

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has already verified that 2023 was the warmest year on record, shattering the record for worldwide temperature.

The State of Global Climate report now states that 2023 was the “hottest year on record by clear margin,” with over one-third of the world’s ocean still experiencing marine heatwaves on average each day. This damage to ecosystems and food systems is alarming.

By the end of 2023, more than 90% of the ocean had at some point in the year experienced heatwave conditions. The most recent WMO study, which was made public ahead of World Meteorological Day on March 23, states that the worldwide set of reference glaciers had the greatest loss of ice on record (since 1950), led by exceptional melt in both western North America and Europe, according to preliminary data.

Sea level rise, Antarctic sea ice loss, ocean warming, and glacier retreat all set records. The severe weather hampered the development of society economically. It did, however, say that there is optimism due to the shift to renewable energy.

The WMO State of the Global Climate 2023 report states that “heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires, and rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones caused misery and mayhem, upending every-day life for millions and inflicting many billions of dollars in economic losses.”

The hottest year is 2023.

2023 was the hottest 10-year period on record, with the global average near surface temperature reaching 1.45 °C (with a range of error of ± 0.12 °C) over the pre-industrial baseline.

Every month from June to December set a record for warmth in that particular month globally.

September 2023 set a new world record for September temperatures by easily beating the previous record by 0.46 to 0.54 °C.

The abrupt increase in temperature between 2022 and 2023 was partly caused by the transition from La Niña to El Niño conditions in the middle of 2023.

From April onward, the average sea-surface temperature (SST) reached a record high, with records in July, August, and September being broken by an especially large margin.

A comprehensive statistical study indicates that in 2023, ocean heat content peaked.

A strong and dangerous maritime heatwave with 3°C above normal temperatures swept throughout the North Atlantic around the end of 2023.

“All of the main indicators have sirens blasting… Not only do certain recordings top the charts, but they also break records. And things are changing more quickly. By Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said, “Never have we been so close—albeit on a temporary basis at the moment—to the 1.5° C lower limit of the Paris Agreement on climate change.”

concerning condition of sea ice, glaciers, and seas

The WMO statement expresses special alarm about the extraordinary warming of the ocean, the retreat of glaciers, and the disappearance of Antarctic sea ice.

Due to ongoing ocean warming (thermal expansion) and glacier and ice sheet melting, the global mean sea level in 2023 hit a record high in the satellite record (since 1993).

More than twice as much sea level has risen globally in the last ten years (2014–2023) as it did in the first ten years of the satellite record (1993–2002).

In the meanwhile, Antarctic sea-ice extent fell to a record low in February 2023 for the satellite period (starting in 1979) and held that position for the month of June through early November.

It said that the September annual maximum was 16.96 million km2, or around 1.5 million km2 less than the average from 1991 to 2020 and 1 million km2 less than the previous record low maximum.

The amount of sea ice in the Arctic was significantly below average; the yearly maximum and minimum amounts were the fifth and sixth lowest on record, respectively.

The Greenland Ice Sheet and the Antarctic Ice Sheet are the two main ice sheets. When combining the two ice sheets, the seven years with the greatest melt rates are all from after 2010, and the average annual mass loss rates from 1992 to 1996 were 105 gigatonnes, but from 2016 to 2020 they were 372 gigatonnes. This translates to an increase in global sea level of around 1 mm year that is ascribed to the ice sheets during the latter era.

“In the hydrological year 2022-2023, the Greenland Ice Sheet persisted in its mass loss,” it said. The worldwide set of reference glaciers saw the greatest ice loss on record (1950–2023), according to preliminary data for the hydrological year 2022–2023, which was mostly caused by very negative mass balance in western North America and Europe.

Over the last two years, glaciers in Switzerland have lost almost 10% of their remaining volume.

Celeste Saulo was cited in the statement as stating, “The climate crisis is the defining challenge that humanity faces and is closely intertwined with the inequality crisis – as witnessed by growing food insecurity, population displacement, and biodiversity loss.”

People who are acutely food insecure double globally.

According to a statement released by the World Food Programme, the number of individuals experiencing acute food insecurity globally has increased by over 100%, from 149 million in the pre-COVID-19 era to 333 million in 2023 (across 78 countries under observation).

Extremes in weather and climate may not be the primary cause, but they may certainly exacerbate the situation.

In 2023, weather-related disasters remained to be the primary cause of relocation, demonstrating how climate shocks reduce resilience and introduce new threats to protection for the most vulnerable groups.

On every continent where people live, extreme weather and climatic catastrophes have a significant socioeconomic effect. These featured significant floods, tropical storms, intense heat waves, dry spells, and the ensuing wildfires.

Hope comes from renewable energy.

The production of renewable energy is nevertheless a ray of hope.

According to the WMO, renewable energy has risen to the top of the climate action scene due to its ability to meet decarbonization objectives. This is due to the dynamic forces of solar radiation, wind, and the water cycle.

Renewable capacity additions reached 510 gigawatts (GW) in 2023, up almost 50% from 2022. This is the greatest pace in the previous 20 years.

For the first time since COP28 in Dubai, climate leaders and ministers from around the globe are gathering this week at the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial to advocate for more rapid climate action.

According to the UN agency, achieving an ambitious finance deal at COP29 to implement national plans is high on the agenda, as is improving nations’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) before the deadline of February 2025.

“Cost of climate inaction is higher than cost of climate action,” is the bottom line.