Video: 2023 expected to be even warmer than 2022, NASA climatologist says
As the sun broke out in the Sacramento area on Monday, forecasters believe the band of destructive weather events fueled by the Pineapple Express is tailing off for now.
In downtown Sacramento, 17.79 inches of rain has fallen since the beginning of rainfall recording for the year on Oct. 1. The average value through Jan. 16 is 8.14 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Now, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report says 2022 was the world’s sixth warmest year on record at 58.55 degrees Fahrenheit.
That’s in spite of a strong La Nina in 2022, a cooling of the equatorial Pacific that slightly reduces global average temperatures, according to the Associated Press. That’s the opposite of an El Nino, a warming of the Pacific, usually peaking in December.
“If we get the beginnings of an El Nino by the end of this year, so 2023, then that would suggest that 2024 would be the record warmest year by quite a large amount,” Gavin Schmidt, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NASA, told the AP. “But well, we’ll see. The predictability that I have for one year to another is pretty good. And so I can pretty confidently say that 2023 will be warmer than 2022.”
