66.9% Thought 2024 Would Record Higher Temperatures Than 2023

2023 has officially been declared the hottest year on record, exceeding the previous record set in 2016. Scientists tracking global temperatures reported that the year was 1.48°C warmer than the pre-industrial period, dangerously close to the 1.5°C limit set in the 2015 Paris climate accords.

Real Research, an online survey platform, shared a survey on 2023 being the hottest year on record, and here are the findings.

• 63.17% personally experienced extreme weather events in the past year.
• Carbon emissions significantly contributed to 2023 being the hottest year on record, according to 53.32%.
• 66.48% have personally taken steps to reduce their carbon footprint in response to climate change concerns.

Hottest Years in Human History

Leading climate monitoring organizations jointly declared that 2023 has officially become the hottest year ever recorded. The data revealed that 2023 surpasses the previous record-holder, 2016, by a significant margin of 0.27 degrees Fahrenheit (0.15 degrees Celsius).

66.38% were aware that 2023 has been declared the hottest year on record, while 33.62% weren’t aware.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator Bill Nelson confirmed and expressed the gravity of the findings, stating that NASA’s “global temperature report confirms what billions of people around the world experienced last year; we are facing a climate crisis.”

The majority (63.17%) personally experienced extreme weather events such as heatwaves, wildfires, floods, and droughts in the past year. The remaining respondents (36.83%) haven’t experienced extreme weather events.

2023 Is the Hottest Year on Record; Here’s Why

Scientists attribute many extreme weather events last year directly to global warming caused by rising carbon emissions. Responding to this, 53.32% believe that carbon emissions significantly contributed to 2023 being the hottest year on record. 26.48% stated that it had a great impact, 16.45% claimed the impact was moderate, 2.02% didn’t see any carbon emissions contribution to the record, and 1.73% saw a small impact.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said, “Humanity’s actions are scorching the earth. We must respond to record-breaking temperature rises with path-breaking action.” 66.48% claimed that they have personally taken steps to reduce their carbon footprint in response to climate change concerns. On the other hand, 33.52% haven’t.

What About 2024?

Scientists have also warned that 2024 has a one-in-three chance of hitting even higher temperatures and a 99% chance of ranking among the top five hottest years in human history. About 66.9% thought 2024 would record higher temperatures than 2023, and 33.1% didn’t.

Based on calculations, 2023 was 1.48°C warmer than the pre-industrial period, dangerously close to the 1.5°C threshold set in the 2015 Paris climate accords. Scientists are already forecasting that the average temperature in 2025 will meet or exceed 1.5°C.

The likelihood of that happening is high, as 63.48% claimed. Meanwhile, the remaining responses were: likely (26.62%), moderately likely (7.25%), slightly likely (1.17%), and not likely at all (1.48%).

The Beginning of the End?

Climate and atmospheric scientists have quantified the stakes in a recent paper, suggesting that humanity has just over six more years of business-as-usual before reaching a point of no return, where global warming may become unstoppable. The majority (62.85%) agreed to this, believing that we are approaching a point of no return for global warming in the next six years, while 37.15% disagreed.