Is 2023 a sign global heat is accelerating?

Scientists are wondering if 2023’s record heat is a sign of things to come and if it will get worse with even more records being broken.

Average temperatures were above the record that was previously set in 2016; 2.66 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels. Dr. Peter Schlosser, Vice President and Vice Provost of Global Futures at ASU, joined Arizona Horizon to tell us more.

“Right now with the actions we are taking, we are on the trajectory for a 2.5 degree Celsius roughly 5 Fahrenheit warming,” said Dr. Schlosser.

In contrast to 2022, significant shifts occurred in the Pacific region. The transition from a La Niña state, characterized by cold surface waters, to an El Niño state, the presence of warm surface waters suggests a trajectory towards global temperature warming.

“It does matter, every tenth of a degree with warming does matter,” said Dr. Schlosser.