2023 may be hottest year on record, experts say

This year looks set to be the hottest year on record, forecasters say, after record-breaking heat soared throughout Europe, the United States and countries worldwide.

The summer of 2023 was the hottest ever recorded, with sweltering heat in parts of the US and European countries Greece, Italy and Spain.

September has also seen blistering temperatures, unusual for this time of year, according to Copernicus, Europe's climate change service that examines international weather patterns.

Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said that last month several records were broken "by an extraordinary amount" of weather that brought on never-before-seen high temperatures for that time of year.

Last month, temperatures were 1.75 degrees warmer than usual for the weather average recorded in September from 1850 to 1900, described as the preindustrial reference period.

It broke the previous monthly record in 2020 by 0.5 degrees, Copernicus said. September has not been so hot since the service began its records in 1940.

"The unprecedented temperatures for the time of year observed in September following a record summer have broken records by an extraordinary amount," Burgess said.

Last month, thousands of protesters from around the world descended on Lower Manhattan in New York City to demonstrate against climate change as world leaders met at the United Nations for a one-day climate summit.

The record-breaking heat puts 2023 on track to be the hottest year on record internationally, with weather patterns 1.4 degrees above preindustrial levels, Burgess said.

This year had several record-breaking hot months, including July and August. October is also on track to be hot in European countries Austria, France, Poland and Spain.

Extreme weather continued this year.

Last month, New York saw record-breaking rainfall that surpassed the record for any September day set during Hurricane Donna in 1960, the National Weather Service said. The rain caused the city's streets to be flooded and parts of the transit system to stop working.

In the same month, Canada dealt with devastating wildfires, South America had record-breaking heat, and thousands died from a massive flood in Libya.

Greece was ravaged by Storm Elias that dumped several months of rain on the island in less than a day. It came just weeks after Storm Daniel killed 17 people in the country. Heavy rain in Greece, Turkiye and Bulgaria left 14 dead.

Thanu Yakupitiyage, former communications director of 350 Action, an organization that mobilizes progressive voters and works to elect climate champions, said extreme weather patterns are clear indications that the world must act quickly to address climate change.

"In 2022 alone, there was damage from climate disasters, including (last) September's hurricanes Fiona and Ian; it exceeded $100 billion in damages, just from two hurricanes alone," she said.

"Wildfires ravaged the US West Coast, which has some of the worst air quality in the world because of fires and the climate crisis. The bigger picture is that we have three years to write the ship to avoid a point of no return on climate."