The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is sounding the alarm after record-breaking temperatures were recorded in 2023. The WMO provisional State of the Global Climate report, released at the end of 2023, confirmed that temperatures reached new heights across the globe rising 1.4 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial 1850-1900 baseline. 

According to the report, the past nine years have been the warmest on record, with the 2023–2024 El Niño expected to drive temperatures even higher. 

“Greenhouse gas levels are record high. Global temperatures are at record-highs. Sea level rise is at record highs. Antarctic sea ice is at record-lows. It’s a deafening cacophony of broken records,” said WMO secretary-general, professor Petteri Taalas. “These are more than just statistics. We risk losing the race to save our glaciers and to rein in sea level rise. We cannot return to the climate of the 20th century, but we must act now to limit the risks of an increasingly inhospitable climate in this and the coming centuries.”

Carbon dioxide levels have also reached record levels, jumping 50 percent above the pre-industrial era. Experts believe this will continue to cause temperatures to rise well into the future. 

“Extreme weather is destroying lives and livelihoods on a daily basis, underscoring the imperative need to ensure that everyone is protected by early warning services,” said Taalas.

Sea levels have also risen at an alarming rate, doubling between 2013 and 2022 over the years 1993 and 2002. This is due to ocean warming causing glaciers and ice sheets to melt. Notably, sea ice in the Antarctic was the lowest on record, 1 million km2 less than the previous record low. Meanwhile, Swiss glaciers have seen a drop in volume of more than 10 percent over the last two years. 

“This year, we have seen communities around the world pounded by fires, floods and searing temperatures. Record global heat should send shivers down the spines of world leaders,” said United Nations secretary-general António Guterres. “We have the roadmap to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 °C and avoid the worst of climate chaos. But we need leaders to fire the starting gun at COP28 on a race to keep the 1.5 degree limit alive: by setting clear expectations for the next round of climate action plans and committing to the partnerships and finance to make them possible; by committing to triple renewables and double energy efficiency; and committing to phase out fossil fuels, with a clear time frame aligned to the 1.5-degree limit.”

The final State of the Global Climate 2023 report, along with regional reports, will be published in the first half of 2024.