WASHINGTON POST • September 23, 2023
After months of record planetary warmth, temperatures have become even more abnormal in recent weeks – briefly averaging close to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, a global warming threshold leaders are seeking to avoid. The trend adds to near-certainty that 2023 will be Earth’s warmest on record, and heightens threats of the extreme conditions the heat could fuel around the world. The warmth is likely to be the fingerprint of a deepening El Niño climate pattern and a sign that temperatures will continue to accelerate beyond old norms in the year ahead.