Weather & Science
Hot October Makes 2023 ‘Virtually Certain’ to Be Warmest Year Ever
Last month was the hottest October on record by 0.4C, meaning it’s almost guaranteed this year will be the warmest one in history.
Sunrise in New York City on Oct. 22.
Photographer: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
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This October was the warmest on record and 2023 is “virtually certain” to be the hottest year ever recorded, climate scientists said on Wednesday.
The average global temperature for October was 0.4C above the previous record for the month, set in 2019, 0.85C warmer than the 1991 to 2020 average and 1.7C warmer than an estimate of pre-industrial levels between 1850 and 1900, analysis by the European Union-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service showed. This year is so far 1.43C warmer than the pre-industrial average.