Scientists: November, the sixth month in a row that sets a heat record

2023-12-06 09:07:39, Kosova & Bota CNA

November is the sixth month in a row this year to set a record for heat, while this autumn was also the hottest, according to the European Climate Agency.

With only a month left until the end of this year, 2023 is on track to break the record for the hottest year on record.

November was nearly a third of a degree warmer than the hottest November on record, the Copernicus Climate Change Service announced Wednesday. November was 1.75 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times, edging out October and September for the hottest month above average, according to scientists.

"The second half of this year has been really shocking," said Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess.

"Scientists are running out of words to describe this," she added.

The average temperature during this November was 14.22 degrees, i.e. 0.85 degrees hotter than the average in the last 30 years. Two days this month were 2 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times. This has never happened before, according to Burgess.

So far, this year is 1.46 degrees hotter than pre-industrial times, about one-seventh of a degree hotter than the hottest year on record, which was 2016, according to Copernicus scientists.

Scientists say there are two causes of this year's record heat. One is climate change caused by human hands, such as the burning of coal, oil or gas, while the other is the natural cyclone El Niño.

Earth will continue to warm even more as the world continues to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, Burgess said.

She said this means that "floods, fires, heat waves and catastrophic drought will continue".

"It is very likely that 2023 will be a cool year in the future, if we do not do something about our dependence on fossil fuels", she emphasized./ DW