Global temperature records broken in 2023 - average temperatures are already 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and 2024 could be even hotter | World Meteorological Organization

As of the end of October, 2023 would be about 1.40℃higher than the pre-industrial period from 1850 to 1900, being the hottest year on record.

In 2022, the observed concentrations of the three major greenhouse gases CO2, CH4 and N2O reached record high levels. In 2023, the levels of three greenhouse gases will continue to rise.

One-quarter of the CO2 emitted by humans into the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean, leading to continued acidification of the ocean. In 2023, global mean sea level reached the highest value since satellite observations in 1993.

In February 2023, the Antarctic Sea ice area reached its lowest value since satellite observations began in 1979.The annual maximum sea ice extent in September is well below historical records.

The average intensity of typhoons landing in China has increased since the late 1990s.

Extreme weather in 2023 will cause serious economic serious economic and social impacts. Floods caused by Mediterranean Storm Daniel caused 4,345 deaths and 8,500 missing in Libya; forest fires in Canada lasted from the end of April to autumn, and the burning area was 6% higher than the average of the past ten years.

Data sources: World Meteorological Organization's "2023 Global Climate Status Report", China Meteorological Administration's "China Climate Change Blue Book (2023)"

Methane is the main component of natural gas and contributes up to one-third of today's climate warming. It is a powerful pollutant with a global warming potential more than 80 times that of carbon dioxide within 20 years of being released into the atmosphere.  Reducing methane emissions is the fastest way to combat climate change in the short term because methane remains in the atmosphere for a much shorter time than carbon dioxide.

The oil and gas industry is one of the largest sources of anthropogenic methane emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change points out that in order to control global warming within 1.5℃, global methane emissions must be reduced by 40% to 45% before 2030.