Global Warming Is Accelerating

Click for interactive version.

By Thomas Neuburger

I’ve written quite a lot about this lately (for example, here), but it can’t be said enough.

Global warming is accelerating. 2023 is the warmest year on record, and by a lot.

The following, by climate writer and scientist Zeke Hausfather, presents the case clearly. First, an explanation of scientists’ new ability to track daily global temperatures:

While global temperature records are not yet in for the full month of October 2023, real-time reanalysis products increasingly allow scientists to track global temperatures on a daily basis. Reanalysis pulls together a huge amount of data from satellites, weather balloons, aeroplanes, weather stations, ships and buoys to provide a detailed look at how the Earth’s climate is changing in real-time. Modern reanalysis products, such as JRA-55 and ERA5, use state-of-the-art methods to produce records that align well with traditional surface temperature datasets over recent decades.

Now the results of that data. Note that the start point goes quite a way back, to 1958.

The figure below shows the daily global temperature anomaly values from the JRA-55 reanalysis product for each day since the record began in 1958 (grey lines). It shows the current year to date (2023) in red and the prior record warm year, 2016, in blue. Nearly every single day since mid-June 2023 has been warmer than any prior days since the JRA-55 record began in 1958 – and, potentially, much further into the past. [emphasis added]

This is the figure:

Daily global mean surface temperature anomalies from the JRA-55 reanalysis product, using its standard 1991-2020 baseline period. Lines show global surface temperature anomalies for each day since the record began in 1958 (grey), the current year of 2023 to date (red) and the previous record warm year in 2016 (blue).

Again, nearly every single day since mid-June 2023 has been warmer than any equivalent day since 1958. That is, this July 1 was the warmest July 1, this July 2 was the warmest July 2, and so on. By a lot.

Warming in the Antarctic

The Antarctic is also in trouble. From climate scientist Zack Labe (whose Twitter feed is a godsend):

More on the Western Antarctic glacier here.

When that turns to water, it will add ten feet to global sea level rise. It’s going to be interesting to watch folks figure out how to move New York, and where to move it. It will also to be interesting to watch as they realize, New York does need to be moved.

You would think that at some point someone would seize the wheel from the global leaders steering our global Titanic. But they're locked in the bridge, and the ship still chugs to its destined fatal encounter.

There’s a conclusion to draw from this, about what to do. I’ll let you draw it.