NewsNation

2023 saw warmest September in history

(NewsNation) — Last month set another global temperature record, with September 2023 being the warmest on record. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that September’s temperature propelled 2023 into the lead as the warmest year-to-date on record. 


“September 2023 was the fourth month in a row of record-warm global temperatures,” said NOAA Chief Scientist Dr. Sarah Kapnick. “Not only was it the warmest September on record, it was far and away the most atypically warm month of any in NOAA’s 174 years of climate keeping. To put it another way, September 2023 was warmer than the average July from 2001-2010.” 

In September, the global temperature soared to 2.59°F (1.44°C) above the 20th-century average of 59.0°F (15.0°C). 

Africa, Europe, North America and South America each had their warmest September on record. 

Extreme weather events, which can be directly attributed to human-caused global warming, costs an estimated $143 billion annually.    

September 2023 also saw the least amount of sea ice ever recorded. This broke the previous record set in September 2016. The main reason for this was the exceptionally low amount of sea ice in the Antarctic, which had its fifth month in a row with record-low sea ice coverage.