Earth breached 2°C threshold on November 17, 18

WHILE THE BREACH OF THE 2°C THRESHOLD WAS TEMPORARY, IT IS ALMOST CERTAIN THAT 2023 WILL BE THE WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD, SCIENTISTS HAVE WARNED

- Abhishek Jha and Jayashree Nandi

Global temperatures may have temporarily breached a threshold on November 17 and November 18 that scientists believe could cause irreversible damage to Earth if it persists for longer periods. Average global daily temperature was around 2°C warmer than the 1850-1900 average for the first time in history on the two days last week, according to estimates. The Paris Agreement of 2015 set the goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C and possibly not more than 1.5°C.

To be sure, the Earth warming by 2°C on two days does not mean failure to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. All such goals are for longer-term climate, which is the aggregate of weather (such as the temperatures on a particular day or month) over decades, and there is consensus that in these terms, the world is around 1.15°C warmer than pre-industrial levels. However, the breach shows how extreme weather can get even when the climate has changed by a smaller degree. The 2013-2022 global average temperature remains around 1.15°C warmer than the 1850-1900 average, still well below the 1.5°C threshold.