2023 Shows The Earth Continues to Heat to New Records
It’s official: Our planet Earth heated to a dangerous new record in 2023.
The European climate agency Copernicus reports that the global data it compiled and analyzed shows that the average global temperature for 2023 shattered the old record for the warmest year since human civilization has been keeping reliable contemporary records. In fact, each of the last seven months of the year set a new record high for that month, with July 2023 now standing as the hottest month on record. The leading factor contributing to this heat surge is the rising level of heat-trapping greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
While the long-term impacts of this trend could break the foundations of human civilization itself, even the short-term damage is enormous. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. saw a new record of 28 weather-related disasters in 2023. Each disaster cost more than $1 billion in damages–a total of $93 billion in damages. These events included a drought, four floods, a wildfire, a winter storm, two hurricanes, and 19 other severe storms. The old record had been 22 such billion-dollar disasters, set in 2020. By comparison, the decade of the 1980s averaged only three such disasters a year, and the 1990s just six per year. Damages totals were adjusted for inflation, so the calculations represent an oranges-to-oranges comparison of the number of extreme weather disasters over time.
Heat Record Confirmed By NASA
NASA’s records and calculations confirmed 2023 as the warmest year on record. “NASA and NOAA’s global temperature report confirms what billions of people around the world experienced last year; we are facing a climate crisis,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “From extreme heat, to wildfires, to rising sea levels, we can see our Earth is changing.”
Nelson added, “There’s still more work to be done, but President Biden and communities across America are taking more action than ever to reduce climate risks and help communities become more resilient.” He continues, “NASA will continue to use our vantage point of space to bring critical climate data back down to Earth that is understandable and accessible for all people. NASA and the Biden-Harris Administration are working to protect our home planet and its people, for this generation – and the next.”
Save Money and Act on Climate
What can you do? We have partnered with organizations across the state to bring you a new resource. In 2022, The Biden-Harris Administration and the climate advocates in Congress passed the largest climate bill in US history. The Inflation Reduction Act gives many benefits to homeowners, renters, landlords, small businesses, local governments, and more. But most of these beneficiaries don’t know where to start. We along with organizations across the Carolinas present an easily digestible website called Energy Funds for All. Read more about the website or check it out at energyfundsforall.org
