The outgoing year will be one of the hottest in history

(Patria) - Scientists from the European Union announced on Wednesday that 2023 will be the hottest year in history, as the global average temperature for 11 months of this year reached the highest record level, 1.46 degrees Celsius above the average for the period 1850-1900.

The record comes as governments are in marathon negotiations on whether to, for the first time, phase out the use of coal, oil and gas that emit CO2, the main source of warming emissions, at the COP28 summit in Dubai.

The temperature for the period January-November 2023 was 0.13 degrees Celsius higher than the average for the same period in 2016, currently the warmest calendar year, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said.

November 2023 was the warmest November globally, with an average surface air temperature of 14.22 degrees Celsius, 0.85 degrees above the November average for the period 1991-2020 and 0.32 degrees Celsius above the previous warmest November in 2020, Copernicus added.

- This year now has six months of record-breaking and two seasons of record-breaking. Exceptional global November temperatures, including two days more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, mean that 2023 is the warmest year in recorded history - said C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess.

The autumn period from September to November was also the warmest recorded globally by a large margin, with an average temperature of 15.30 degrees, 0.88 degrees above the average, EU scientists said.

- As long as greenhouse gas concentrations keep rising, we cannot expect different results from those seen this year. The temperature will continue to rise, as will the impacts of heatwaves and droughts. Reaching net zero as soon as possible is an effective way to manage our climate risks - added C3S Director Carlo Buontempo.

Efforts are lagging to meet the goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep the global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, beyond which scientists warn of serious impacts on weather, health and agriculture.

The EU has one of the most ambitious climate change policies among the world's major economies, having passed laws to achieve the 2030 target of reducing net emissions by 55 percent compared to 1990 levels, which analysts say is the minimum needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, Reuters reports.