The summer of 2023 was not just hot, it was the hottest ever recorded, even beating temperatures from the past 2,000 years, as revealed by a study published in the journal Nature.
During this scorching summer, temperatures rose dramatically across the Northern Hemisphere, surpassing previous records by a significant margin.
To understand this unprecedented heat, scientists delved into historical weather records dating back to the mid-1800s. They also examined data from tree rings gathered from different locations, allowing them to reconstruct temperature patterns from centuries ago.
The extreme heat was mainly caused by the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, which trap heat in the atmosphere, and an El Niño climate pattern. These factors combined to create long periods of intense heatwaves and drought conditions.
