Posted on 21 January 2023 by John Hartz

Story of the Week

State of the climate: How the world warmed in 2022

With a new year underway, most of the climate data for the whole of 2022 is now available. And this data shows that last year set new records for individual locations as well as the world as a whole. 

Here, Carbon Brief examines the latest data across the oceans, atmosphere, cryosphere and surface temperature of the planet (see the links below to navigate between sections). This 2022 review reveals:

• Ocean heat content: It was the warmest year on record for ocean heat content, which increased notably between 2021 and 2022.
• Surface temperature: It was between the fifth and sixth warmest year on record for surface temperature for the world as a whole, at between 1.1C and 1.3C above pre-industrial levels across different temperature datasets. The last eight years have been the eight warmest years since records began in the mid-1800s.
• A persistent triple-dip La Niña: The year ended up cooler than it would otherwise be due to persistent La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific. Carbon Brief finds that 2022 would have been the second warmest year on record after 2020 in the absence of short-term variability from El Niño and La Niña events. 
• Warming over land: It was the warmest year on record in 28 countries – including China, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain and the Uk – and in areas where 850 million people live.
• Extreme weather: 2022 saw extreme heatwaves over Europe, China, India, Pakistan and South America, as well as catastrophic flooding in Pakistan, Brazil, West Africa and South Africa. Climate change played a clear role in increasing the severity of all of these events.
• Comparison with climate model data: Observations for 2022 are close to the central estimate of climate models featured in the IPCC fifth assessment report.
• Warming of the atmosphere: It was the seventh or eighth warmest year in the lower troposphere – the lowest part of the atmosphere – depending on which dataset is used. The stratosphere – in the upper atmosphere – is cooling, due in part to heat trapped in the lower atmosphere by greenhouse gases.
• Sea level rise: Sea levels reached new record-highs, with notable acceleration over the past three decades.
• Greenhouse gases: Concentrations reached record levels for CO2, methane and nitrous oxide.
• Sea ice extent: Arctic sea ice saw its 10th lowest minimum extent on record, and was generally at the low end of the historical range for the year. Antarctic sea ice saw a new record low extent for much of 2022.
• Looking ahead to 2022: Carbon Brief predicts that global average surface temperatures in 2023 are most likely to be slightly warmer than 2022, but are unlikely to set a new all-time record given lingering La Niña conditions in the first half of the year.

Click here to access the entire article as originally posted on the Carbon Brief website.

State of the climate: How the world warmed in 2022 by Zeke Hausfather, Climate Brief, Jan 18, 2023

Links posted on Facebook

Sun, Jan 15, 2023

• Mass Climate Migration Is Coming by Gaia Vince, Ideas, Wired, Jan 11, 2023
• Time to branch out? Trees put lawns in the shade when it comes to tackling climate crisis by Tess McLure, Environment, The Guardian, Jan 12, 2023
• How to create a healthy ocean that benefits everyone by Peter Thomsan, World Economic Forum (WEF), Jan 15, 2023
• Washington state just started capping carbon emissions. Here’s how it works. by Kate Yoder, Grist, Jan 9, 2023

Mon, Jan 16, 2023

• Warming ocean waters in Western Australia are a 'sentinel of climate change', UWA researchers say by Jeremy Jones & Natasha Harradine, ABC News (AU), Jan 15, 2023
• In the Race to Develop the Best Solar Power Materials, What If the Key Ingredient Is Effort? by Dan Gearino, Inside Clean Energy, Inside Climate News, Jan 12, 2023
• How the gas stove became the newest player in the Republican culture war by Gustaf Kilander, Climate, The Independent (UK), Jan 14, 2023
• New paper: Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections by Bärbel Winkler, Skeptical Science, Jan 16, 2023

Tue, Jan 17, 2023

• 700,000 Sign 'Cease and Desist' Letter to Fossil Fuel CEOs at Davos by Jake Johnson, Common Dreams, Jan 16, 2023
• 2022 was one of Earth’s six warmest years on record by Jeff Masters, Eye on the Storm, Yale Climate Connections, Jan 12, 2023
• Explainer: Can the world ‘halt and reverse’ biodiversity loss by 2030? by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Jan 16, 2023
• The Right Words Are Crucial to Solving Climate Change by Susan Joy Hassol, Environment, Scientific American, Jan 17, 2023

Wed, Jan 18, 2023

• Climate activist Greta Thunberg detained by police in Germany at coal mine protest by Rachel Ramirez & Laura Paddison, CNN, Jan 17, 2023
• Rains taper off and clean-up continues in California after an onslaught of storms ravaged the state and left at least 20 dead by Nouran Salahieh, CNN, Jan 17, 2023
• One of the World’s Coldest Places Is now the Warmest it’s Been in 1,000 Years, Scientists Say by Bob Berwyn, Science, Inside Climate News, Jan 18, 2023
• Twitter has always been a hotspot for climate change misinformation. On Musk's watch, it's heating up., Jessica Guynn, Tech, USA Today, Jan 10, 2023

Thu, Jan 19, 2023

• Increased atmospheric dust is masking greenhouse gases’ warming effect by Alison Hewitt, Environment & Climate, UCLA News Room, Jan 17, 2023
• Fed directs big banks to disclose how they are preparing for climate change risks by Jeff Cox, Finance, CNBC, Jan 17, 2023
• It May Not Be Long Before We're All Suffering from Climate Trauma by Jeffery Kluger, Health, Time Magazine, Jan 18, 2023
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #3 2023 by Doug Bostrom & Marc Kodack, Skeptical Science, Jan 19, 2023

Fri, Jan 20, 2023

• In Europe’s Clean Energy Transition, Industry Turns to Heat Pumps by Paul Hockenos, Yale Environment 360, Jan 19, 2023
• State of the climate: How the world warmed in 2022 by Zeke Hausfather, Climate Brief, Jan 18, 2023
• ‘Super-tipping points’ could trigger cascade of climate action by Damian Carrington, Environment, The Guardian, Jan 20, 2023
• Renewables Projected to Soon Be One-Fourth of US Electricity Generation. Really Soon by Dan Gearino, Inside Clean Energy, Inside Climate News, Jan 19, 2023

Sat, Jan 21, 2023

• Climate change denial is making a ‘stark comeback’ on social media, study finds by Justine Kalma, Science, The Verge, Jan 19, 2023
• Global Carbon Removal Efforts Are Off Track for Meeting Climate Goals by Chelsea Harvey, Environment, E&E News/Scientific American, Jan 19, 2023
• The Health Risks of Gas Stoves Explained by Tanya Lewis, Health, Scientific American, Jan 19, 2023
• When scientists tagged a curious seal, he led them to signs of a potential climate disaster by Chris Mooney & Simon Ducroquet, Climate, Washington Post, Jan 21, 2023