HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD: 2023 and LIMIT THAT SHOULD NOT BE EXCEEDED FOR A HEALTHY PLANET

Hottest Year on Record: 2023

According to independent analyses by the EU Copernicus Climate Change Agency, the US Space and Aviation Administration (NASA), and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2023 has become the hottest year in history since temperature records began in 1850.

According to data from the EU Copernicus Climate Change Agency, the average temperature for 2023 was 14.98 °C. This value is 1.48 °C above the average between 1850 and 1900, which is considered the pre-Industrial Revolution period. 2023 is 0.17 °C warmer than the previous record year of 2016. The record for hottest year of 2023 has also been confirmed by various organizations that analyse Earth's temperature records, such as NASA and NOAA.

2023 was also a year in which other climate records were broken. The amount of heat stored by the oceans reached its highest level in 2023. In February 2023, the area covered by sea ice in Antarctica was measured at an all-time low. July 2023 was the month with the highest average temperature on Earth since temperature records began in 1850.

The extraordinary conditions that emerged in the Earth's climate in 2023 are thought to be related to natural factors such as volcanic eruptions, El Nino and La Nina climate events, as well as the increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere as a result of human-induced activities. While the La Nina event, which caused a decrease in sea water temperature especially in the Pacific Ocean, ended at the beginning of 2023, the El Nino event, which is associated with the warming of sea waters in the central and eastern parts of the Pacific Ocean, began to emerge in the middle of 2023. Climate scientists predict that the warming effect of El Nino will be more pronounced in the first months of 2024.

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LIMIT THAT SHOULD NOT BE EXCEEDED FOR A HEALTHY PLANET

About fifteen years ago, nine planetary boundaries were determined that must not be exceeded in order for Earth to continue to be a similar planet to that which it was before the Industrial Revolution. Recent scientific studies show that six of these nine limits have already been exceeded.

Since the end of the last ice age, approximately 11,000 years ago, there had been no significant change in environmental and climatic conditions for a very long time. Until human activities slowly begin to degrade nature... Today, it is suggested that the Holocene period, which began after the last ice age, has ended and a new geological period, called the Anthropocene, has begun, in which human influence on the Earth's geology and ecosystems is clearly seen. There are even scientific studies being conducted on how the beginning of the Anthropocene can be defined.

Until about 200 years ago, people lived on a relatively empty Earth. The population was small, natural resources were abundant. When local conditions deteriorated, they could easily migrate to other places more suitable for living. After scientific and technological developments in the last two centuries, public health has improved significantly. The total human population on Earth began to increase rapidly. We live in a full world now. Avoiding the environmental and climate problems we are causing is not as easy as it used to be. Moreover, it is difficult to predict today the final point that the changes caused by human activities will reach. Necessary steps need to be taken to ensure that natural conditions remain within safe limits. Otherwise, devastating consequences may arise for human societies.

In a 2009 paper, a group of researchers identified nine planetary boundaries that must not be exceeded in order for Earth to continue to support human societies as it did in the distant past. These limits were under the following headings: climate change, biosphere integrity, ozone depletion, ocean acidity, nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, deforestation, freshwater, atmospheric aerosols, and synthetic chemicals. When the first article was published, the amount of data available was small and quantitative values ​​for the boundaries in all headings could not be determined. However, in the meantime, many studies have been conducted. In a recently published article, quantitative criteria for all topics were determined for the first time. The results show that the trend is worsening in all but one of the headings.

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About fifteen years ago, nine planetary boundaries were determined that must not be exceeded in order for Earth to continue to be a similar planet to that which it was before the Industrial Revolution. Recent scientific studies show that six of these nine limits have already been exceeded.

Since the end of the last ice age, approximately 11,000 years ago, there had been no significant change in environmental and climatic conditions for a very long time. Until human activities slowly begin to degrade nature... Today, it is suggested that the Holocene period, which began after the last ice age, has ended and a new geological period, called the Anthropocene, has begun, in which human influence on the Earth's geology and ecosystems is clearly seen. There are even scientific studies being conducted on how the beginning of the Anthropocene can be defined.

Until about 200 years ago, people lived on a relatively empty Earth. The population was small, natural resources were abundant. When local conditions deteriorated, they could easily migrate to other places more suitable for living. After scientific and technological developments in the last two centuries, public health has improved significantly. The total human population on Earth began to increase rapidly. We live in a full world now. Avoiding the environmental and climate problems we are causing is not as easy as it used to be. Moreover, it is difficult to predict today the final point that the changes caused by human activities will reach. Necessary steps need to be taken to ensure that natural conditions remain within safe limits. Otherwise, devastating consequences may arise for human societies.

In a 2009 paper, a group of researchers identified nine planetary boundaries that must not be exceeded in order for Earth to continue to support human societies as it did in the distant past. These limits were under the following headings: climate change, biosphere integrity, ozone depletion, ocean acidity, nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, deforestation, freshwater, atmospheric aerosols, and synthetic chemicals. When the first article was published, the amount of data available was small and quantitative values ​​for the boundaries in all headings could not be determined. However, in the meantime, many studies have been conducted. In a recently published article, quantitative criteria for all topics were determined for the first time. The results show that the trend is worsening in all but one of the headings.

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