Report by EU Copernicus scientist says that 2022 was the fifth warmest year on record globally

According to a report released by EU Copernicus scientists on Thursday, 2022 was the fifth warmest year globally on record. The report also predicts that the El Nino weather phenomenon, which can increase temperatures, may return in 2023. Europe experienced its hottest summer on record last year, causing glaciers to melt. This could happen again if the continent continues to warm at nearly twice the global rate.

The director of the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, Carlo Buontempo, said that El Nino is typically associated with record-breaking temperatures globally, and it is more likely than not to happen in 2023 or 2024. Climate models suggest that there could be a return to El Nino conditions in late summer, and there is a possibility of a strong El Nino developing later in the year.

In 2022, human-caused emissions caused extreme weather events worldwide, including heavy rainfall that led to devastating floods in Pakistan, and Antarctic sea ice levels reached a record low in February. Several European countries experienced wildfires that lasted longer than usual, causing the highest carbon emissions from fires. Due to these extreme weather events, Samantha Burgess, a scientist at Copernicus, stated that climate change is not a future problem, but a current challenge that we must adapt to.

Europe is warming at around twice the global average, with temperatures increasing by 2.2 degrees Celsius over the past five years compared to pre-industrial levels. Burgess stated that the forecast for 2023 is unclear, but higher concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increase the likelihood of more warm years. Southern Europe is experiencing extreme droughts, and this will affect crop production, reducing it due to a lack of rainfall.

The average global temperature is now 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than in pre-industrial times. Despite the world being on track to hit the 1.5-degree threshold set out in the Paris climate agreement by the early 2030s, Burgess is optimistic, stating that every fraction of a degree matters, and the choices people make are essential.

Meanwhile, scientists at Ny-Aalesund, the planet’s northernmost year-round research station, are studying how the area is becoming the fastest-warming place on earth. The Arctic is warming around four times faster than the rest of the world, but Svalbard, Norway, is warming even faster, with temperatures increasing up to seven times the global average. Polar bears are going hungry due to the loss of sea ice and their hunting grounds.

Scientists say that studying the polar regions is crucial as what happens in the Arctic can impact global sea levels and storms in North America and Europe.