October another record month in terms of temperature

According to the latest report prepared by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, October was another record-breaking month for global temperatures. The year 2023 is full of such infamous achievements. We wrote about September’s in an earlier article: World’s warmest September in 100 years.

October 2023 record-breaking global air temperatures

October 2023, according to the report, was the warmest October on record for measurements worldwide with an average air temperature of 15.3°C. This is 0.85°C higher than the average temperature for that month for 1991-2020, and 1.7°C higher than the estimated average for 1850-1900. Record warmth was recorded in many regions of the world.

In Europe, October in 2023. was the fourth warmest on record, with temperatures 1.30°C higher than indicated by the 1991-2020 average for that month. The highest temperatures were recorded, among others. In Italy and Switzerland, as well as in the Balkans. On other continents, too, thermometers indicated significantly higher temperatures, deviating markedly from multi-year averages. It was also warmer at most measurement points in Siberia and Central Asia, and over northern and northeastern parts of North America.

In Africa, above-average high temperatures were recorded in countries in the northwest of the continent, as well as in parts of Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan. In northern and central South America, high temperatures have caused drought in the Amazon basins. Low river water levels and hot weather have become the cause of large-scale extinctions of fish and river dolphins, as well as a host of problems that have affected the local population, as we reported in a previous article: Drought in the Amazon – lowest water level in at least 121 years. Record temperatures, well above average, were also recorded over Western Australia and East Antarctica. Below-average temperatures occurred only in a small part of the land area and included Scandinavia, Antarctica and some regions of Australia.

Air temperatures over the oceans

Air temperatures in large parts of the ocean have also exceeded average values, which is linked to record sea surface temperatures. El Niño is having an impact in the equatorial Pacific, as well as around the world. This is a natural phenomenon that occurs fairly regularly in the eastern Pacific Ocean and causes warm waters to rise to the surface, resulting in higher air temperatures.

In addition, it was warmer than usual in Antarctica, where the thickness of the ice sheet is still much lower than normal for this part of the year. This trend has led to a significant reduction in the thickness of the ice sheet, which is particularly worrisome given that this is the time of year when the glacier usually reaches its maximum thickness. Air temperatures were also higher than the 1991-2020 average in most tropical regions, the North Atlantic and the North Pacific.

Will 2023 be a record year for temperatures?

For the calendar year to date, which at this point ends in October, the global average temperature is the highest on record, rising 1.43°C above the 1850-1900 average and 0.10°C above the ten-month average of 2016, which was the warmest calendar year on record to date. The data presented shows that 2024. will most likely exceed these values and take the infamous place at the top of the podium.

October 2023 – temperature record in Poland

October brought record air temperatures across the country as well. The warmest city in our country was Legnica (Lower Silesia voivodeship), where on October 2 this year. Thermometers showed 29.2°C, breaking the previous record that had stood since 1966.

Copernicus Climate Change Service

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) is one of six thematic services provided by the European Union’s Copernicus program. Its goal on climate change is to build a knowledge base for the EU to support policies to mitigate the effects of climate change and global warming. The operational goal of providing this service is to provide reliable information on the current state of the climate and future projections on a seasonal time scale and more likely than currently available projections for the coming decades, taking into account various scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions and other factors contributing to climate change.