Researchers have discovered that the summer of 2023 was the hottest in the Northern Hemisphere in the past two thousand years, with temperatures almost four degrees warmer than the coldest summer during that time. This finding is significant, as most instrumental climate data only goes back to around 1850, limiting the ability to understand long-term climate trends. By analyzing tree ring data, scientists from the University of Cambridge and the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz were able to demonstrate the exceptional nature of the 2023 summer, which exceeded natural climate variability by half a degree Celsius. The results, published in the journal Nature, highlight the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate further warming.
The researchers compared early instrumental temperature records from 1850-1900 with a tree ring dataset to recalibrate the 19th century temperature baseline used to contextualize global warming. By adjusting this baseline, they found that summer 2023 in the Northern Hemisphere was 2.07C warmer than mean summer temperatures between 1850 and 1900. This raises questions about the validity of using the mid-19th century as a baseline for understanding climate change, as it may not accurately capture natural climate variability over longer time scales. Tree ring data provides a valuable resource for reconstructing past climate conditions and putting recent anthropogenic climate change into context.
The tree ring data revealed that cooler periods over the past 2000 years, such as the Little Antique Ice Age in the 6th century and the Little Ice Age in the early 19th century, were linked to large volcanic eruptions that injected aerosols into the stratosphere, causing rapid cooling. In contrast, warmer periods were often associated with the El Niño climate pattern, which results in warmer summers in the Northern Hemisphere due to weakened trade winds in the Pacific Ocean. However, global warming driven by greenhouse gas emissions has intensified El Niño events over the past 60 years, leading to hotter summers and more severe heat waves.
The current study highlights the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate the impacts of global warming. While climate change is a natural process, human activities are exacerbating the warming trend, leading to longer and more severe heat waves. The researchers emphasize that the 2023 temperature records are a wake-up call, indicating the need for immediate action to address climate change. The results also underscore the importance of using climate reconstructions to better understand natural climate variability and the broader context of recent climate change.
While the study focused on the Northern Hemisphere, the researchers note that obtaining global averages for the same period is challenging due to limited data in the Southern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere responds differently to climate change due to its ocean-covered nature, which affects the distribution of heat and moisture. As the world continues to experience rising temperatures, it is crucial to gather more comprehensive data and collaborate on global climate initiatives to address the challenges of climate change. The research was supported in part by the European Research Council, highlighting the international collaboration needed to advance climate science and develop solutions to combat global warming.
