Report: The past 12 months have been the hottest in recorded history
Ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, which begins on November 30, the Climate Center released a report on Thursday showing that the past 12 months were the hottest on record.
Average daily temperatures and heat waves were analyzed in 175 countries, 154 states/provinces and 920 major cities.
Scientists said that the period between November 2022 and October 2023 was warmer by an average of 1.32 degrees Celsius. This compares to the pre-industrial baseline that was set between 1850 and 1900.
The previous record for the warmest 12-month period was between October 2015 and September 2016 at 1.29°C above baseline. The period ending in September 2023 then tied that record.
Read more: Miami is really hotter this summer than last summer. And any other registered year
During the most recent period ending in October, 90% of people – or 7.3 billion people – experienced at least 10 days of hotter temperatures, mostly due to human-caused climate change, and 73% – or 5.8 billion Billion people – experienced more than a month’s worth of temperatures. The value of these temperatures.
“We’re not experiencing 1.3 degrees,” said Andrew Pershing, vice president for science at Climate Central. “We’re experiencing our daily weather, right? This is how climate change affects us.” He spoke on a panel discussion during a virtual media conference on Wednesday.
Extreme heat in Florida
A few Florida cities were included in the report due to extreme heat days, defined as warmer than 99% of days during a typical 30-year period.
Miami had the most extreme heat days with 34 days. Tampa had 23 days, Tallahassee and Jacksonville had 14 days, and Orlando had 11 days.
“El Niño will really start to develop next year, and that will lead to more warming as we move into 2024.”
Andrew Pershing, vice president for science at Climate Central
Miami experienced two heat waves that lasted more than five days, the longest of which was 10 days, starting on August 6.
Tampa and Orlando both experienced heat waves that lasted seven days starting on August 7.
The Tallahassee heat wave lasted for five days starting August 10, the same day Jacksonville’s six-day heat wave began.
Read more: Miami-Dade’s long-awaited vote on heat protection for workers has been postponed to 2024
Even hotter in 2024
“The southern United States, especially Houston at 22 days, had the longest line between major cities around the world,” Pershing said.
“But Mexico City and a couple of other places in the southern US and Mexico had very long lines. We had long lines in Indonesia and China, but you can see it’s happening really everywhere around the world over the last 12 months.
He said we can expect more warming next year due to weather patterns.
“El Niño will really start to have an impact next year, and that will lead to more warming as we move into 2024,” Pershing said.
Based on historical data, the report said it is very likely that the next 12 months will be hotter, possibly exceeding 1.4 degrees Celsius above the baseline.
“These impacts will grow as long as we continue to burn coal, oil and natural gas — and that is the ultimate driver of the changes we are seeing across the planet,” Pershing said.
Extreme heat solutions
Rapidly reducing carbon pollution each year is essential to halt the warming trend, the report said.
Frederik Otto, of the Grantham Institute and World Weather Attribution, also spoke about solutions on Wednesday, pointing to the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
“One of the most important findings of the IPCC report that is kind of untalked about is: So, when we stop burning fossil fuels, temperatures will stop rising,” Otto said.
“We are absolutely certain now that when we stop burning fossil fuels, and therefore when we stop adding fossil fuels to the atmosphere, that is, greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, global temperatures will stop rising, which means that heat waves will stop getting worse, and rain will stop falling.” “The heavy events will stop getting worse.”
Read more: From “bears” to hiking clubs, South Florida is finding new ways to adapt to the extreme heat
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