Many people may be feeling like this past summer was hotter than usual. As it turns out, global temperatures were warming not only in the summer season but throughout the entire year.
A new report conducted by the European Union climate monitor and published by The New York Times details that 2023 was the warmest year in a century and a half.
“Averaged across last year, temperatures worldwide were 1.48 degrees Celsius, or 2.66 Fahrenheit, higher than they were in the second half of the 19th century,” the newspaper reported.
Previously, the hottest year on record had been 2016, which trumped record temperatures in 2015. Prior to that, however, the hottest year on record was 2014. Between 2014 and 2016, temperatures were consistently rising each year.
Climate scientists may have taken reprieve in the years following 2016 when no new records were set but last year, the planet has certainly felt the impact of rising temperatures. The New York Times notes that Canada had its “most destructive” wildfire season in history with over “45 million acres burned.”
