Wednesday 1 March 2023

WMO: ‘World temperatures could go further this year’

WMO: ‘World temperatures could go further this year’

Global temperatures in 2023 are set to rise even further than last year, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) estimates.

This is after record temperatures were experienced in 2022 across Europe and the UK.

The chances of a warming El Niño event are now 35% higher for May to July this year, after the colder La Niña experienced recently.

El Niño is where the ocean’s surface warms above the average temperature in the Pacific – which brings warmer weather to the rest of the world.

In contrast, La Niña represents a cooling of the ocean’s surface – and is regularly followed by El Niño.

Despite this La Niña having been ongoing since September 2020, temperature level records have still been broken due to the impact of climate change – with this expected to worsen, as it’s replaced by its warmer cousin.

WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said: “La Niña’s cooling effect put a temporary brake on rising global temperatures, even though the past eight-year period was the warmest on record. If we do now enter an El Niño phase, this is likely to fuel another spike in global temperatures.”

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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