Warm 2022 makes the past eight years hottest ever recorded

(The Guardian, 12 Jan 2023) World Meteorological Organization data shows last year’s average temperature was 1.15C more than pre-industrial levels.

The relentless challenge of global heating has again been underscored by the tally of a passing year, with 2022 ranking as one of the warmest years ever recorded and the past eight years now collectively the hottest documented by modern science.

Last year’s average temperature was about 1.15C warmer globally than levels seen in the pre-industrial era, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with searing, record heat enveloping much of Europe and Asia, which both experienced their second hottest years on record. Europe had its warmest ever summer.

The cooling influence of La Niña, a periodic climate event now in its third year that delivers brisker temperatures to parts of the globe, helped take some of the edge off the 2022 heat, with the year ranking as either the fifth or sixth hottest year on record.

WMO draws from six different datasets, including that of Nasa, which placed last year as the fifth hottest in the 143-year record, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), which places the year as sixth, due to minor differences in data collection.

External link

The Guardian, 12 Jan 2023: Warm 2022 makes the past eight years hottest ever recorded