The world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, climate scientists say.
Climate models suggest that after three years of the La Niña weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which generally lowers global temperatures slightly, the world will experience a return to El Niño, the warmer counterpart, later this year.
Climate models suggest a return to El Niño conditions in the late boreal summer, and the possibility of a strong El Niño developing towards the end of the year, Buontempo said.
The world’s hottest year on record so far was 2016, coinciding with a strong El Niño – although climate change has fuelled extreme temperatures even in years without the phenomenon.