2023 will be the hottest year in recorded history, breaking a previous record set in 2016.
The World Meteorological Organization confirmed Thursday during the U.N. climate summit that the planet warmed approximately 34 degrees Fahrenheit higher than preindustrial temperatures this year.
The record is fitting for 2023. July 4 was the hottest day ever recorded, beating out the previous world record set the day before. By the end of the summer, scientists confirmed the season was the hottest summer in human history. It seems like Earth was determined to finish out its’ record-setting year with one final accolade.
“Greenhouse gas levels are record high,” WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas said. “Global temperatures are record high. Sea level rise is record high. Antarctic sea ice is record low. It’s a deafening cacophony of broken records.”