Scientists consider it out of the question that December could change this. According to the EU Earth observation programme Copernicus, the current year will be the warmest on record globally since records began in the mid-19th century. The organisation stated that it is virtually impossible for December to change this. The previously warmest year was 2016.

It had already been suspected earlier that 2023 would set a record for global average temperatures. In mid-November, the US climate agency NOAA spoke of a probability of more than 99 per cent that the year would be the warmest since 1850. However, none of the relevant institutions had fully committed to this until now.

More on this at: zeit.de

See also: Copernicus: November 2023 – Remarkable year continues, with warmest boreal autumn. 2023 will be the warmest year on record

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission with funding from the EU, routinely publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting on the changes observed in global surface air and sea temperatures, sea ice cover and hydrological variables. All the reported findings are based on computer-generated analyses and according to ERA5 dataset, using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world. 

The figure on the right shows monthly global surface air temperature anomalies (°C) relative to 1991–2020 from January 1940 to November 2023, plotted as time series for each year. 2023 and 2016 are shown with thick lines shaded in bright red and dark red, respectively. Other years are shown with thin lines and shaded according to the decade, from blue (1940s) to brick red (2020s). Data source: ERA5.

All about November 2023 – Surface air temperature and sea surface temperature highlights: climate.copernicus.eu