**** Info via Environment Canada
Past 8 years warmest on record
The past eight years were the warmest on record globally, fuelled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The average global temperature in 2022 was about 1.15 °C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) levels. The year 2022 is the 8th consecutive year (2015-2022) that annual global temperatures have reached at least 1°C above pre-industrial levels, according to all datasets compiled by WMO. This indicates that long-term warming is continuing.
Global mean temperature of all datasets compiled by the WMO compared to the 1850-1900 temperature average. Source: WMO.
The persistence of a cooling La Niña event in its third year means that 2022 was not the warmest year on record but is “only” the fifth or sixth warmest. But this cooling impact will be short-lived and will not reverse the long-term warming trend caused by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.
Since the 1980s, each decade has been warmer than the previous one. This is expected to continue. The warmest eight years have all been since 2015, with 2016, 2019 and 2020 constituting the top three. An exceptionally strong El Niño event occurred in 2016, which contributed to record global temperatures.
Dramatic weather disasters
Extreme heatwaves, droughts and devastating floods have affected millions and cost billions this year, according to the WMO’s provisional State of the Global Climate in 2022 report. In late December, severe storms affected large areas of North America. High winds, heavy snow and low temperatures led to widespread disruption in the east. Heavy rain, mountain snow, and flooding affected areas in the west.
For more: Past eight years confirmed to be the eight warmest on record.
