Copernicus: 2023 is the hottest year on record, with global temperatures close to the 1.5°C limit https://perma.cc/7T8Y-UBXW Global surface air temperature highlights: 2023 is confirmed as the warmest calendar year in global temperature data records going back to 1850 2023 had a global average temperature of 14.98°C, 0.17°C higher than the previous highest annual value in 2016 2023 was 0.60°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average and 1.48°C warmer than the 1850-1900 pre-industrial level It is likely that a 12-month period ending in January or February 2024 will exceed 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level 2023 marks the first time on record that every day within a year has exceeded 1°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial level. Close to 50% of days were more than 1.5°C warmer then the 1850-1900 level, and two days in November were, for the first time, more than 2°C warmer. Annual average air temperatures were the warmest on record, or close to the warmest, over sizeable parts of all ocean basins and all continents except Australia Each month from June to December in 2023 was warmer than the corresponding month in any previous year July and August 2023 were the warmest two months on record. Boreal summer (June-August) was also the warmest season on record September 2023 was the month with a temperature deviation above the 1991–2020 average larger than any month in the ERA5 dataset December 2023 was the warmest December on record globally, with an average temperature of 13.51°C, 0.85°C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.78°C above the 1850-1900 level for the month. You can access information specific for December 2023 in our monthly bulletin Ocean surface temperature highlights: High SSTs in most ocean basins, and in particular in the North Atlantic, played an important role in the record-breaking global SSTs ...