The unprecedented temperatures the world saw in September have set 2023 on track to become the warmest year on record, latest data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) shows.
September 2023 was the warmest for the month on record globally, with an average surface air temperature of 16.38°C.
This is 0.93°C above the 1991-2020 average for September and 0.5°C above the temperature of the previous warmest, in 2020.
The month was about 1.75°C warmer than the September average for the preindustrial reference period of 1850 to 1900.
The global temperature for January to September 2023 was 0.52°C higher than average, and 0.05°C higher than the equivalent period in the warmest year, 2016.
The global mean temperature for 2023 to date is 1.40°C higher than the pre-industrial average (1850-1900).
Europe had the warmest September on record, at 2.51°C higher than the 1991-2020 average, and 1.1°C higher than 2020, the previous warmest.
Heatwave around the world - in pictures
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An Iraqi man cool himself off in a spray of water during a sweltering hot day at the Al-Khilani square in central Baghdad, Iraq. EPA -
Children play on water jets at a public square on a very hot afternoon in Madrid, Spain. Getty Images -
A costumed spiderman drinks during a heat wave in New York. Bloomberg -
A pedestrian carries an umbrella during a heat wave in Miami, Florida, US. Bloomberg -
A Palestinian, Mustafa Abdou, repairs fan in his shop amid a heatwave at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. Reuters -
A man dives into a canal during a hot day in Larkana district of Sind province. AFP -
A man cools himself with a fan while browsing his phone on a sweltering day in Beijing. AP -
People drink coconut water at a market in Dubai to cope with the hot weather. AFP -
A worker washes his face to cope with the hot weather in Dubai. AFP -
An Egyptian girl cools off in the water amid a heatwave, at a Red Sea resort in Hurghada Egypt. Reuters -
Pedestrians hold umbrellas for protection from the sun during a heat wave in New York, US. Bloomberg -
A homeless person holds an umbrella to block out the sun on a hot day in New York City. AFP -
Bottles of water being delivered on a hot summer day in Istanbul. AP -
Diving into the Treska river near Skopje, as temperatures in North Macedonia soared. AFP -
A woman takes a photograph of the Acropolis in Athens in high temperatures. AFP -
A woman shelters from the sun during a heatwave in Rome. Reuters -
Shelia Nunez, 40, cools her dog with ice while sitting under a shaded bus stop in Phoenix, Arizona. AFP -
A lion eats an icy treat containing meat and ostrich eggs to cool down during a regional heatwave at the Safari Zoological Centre in Ramat Gan, Israel. Reuters -
Children play in a water fountain near the walls of Jerusalem's Old City. Reuters -
Traffic warden Rai Rogers works on his street corner under the hot sun in Las Vegas. AFP -
A woman uses a fan amid an alert for a heatwave in Shanghai. Reuters -
Andrea Washington pours water on herself in the Hungry Hill neighbourhood of Austin, Texas. Getty -
A busy beach in Rabat, Morocco. EPA -
A person receives medical attention after collapsing in a shop in Phoenix, Arizona, in high heat. AFP -
An Iraqi dives into the Tigris to beat the heat in Baghdad. AP -
Youths play in a fountain at a park in the Syrian capital Damascus, as temperatures exceed 35°C. AFP
Antarctic sea ice extent remained at a record low level for the time of year, C3S said. El Nino conditions continued to develop over the equatorial eastern Pacific, it added.
"The unprecedented temperatures for the time of year observed in September, following a record summer, have broken records by an extraordinary amount," said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S.
"This extreme month has pushed 2023 into the dubious honour of first place, on track to be the warmest year and about 1.4°C above preindustrial average temperatures.
"Two months out from Cop28, the sense of urgency for ambitious climate action has never been more critical."
Despite September being the warmest on record, it was also wetter than average in many areas of Europe, including the western Iberian Peninsula, Ireland, northern Britain and Scandinavia.
It was also wetter than average in Greece after extreme rainfall associated with Storm Daniel. This event was also responsible for the devastating flooding in Libya.
Southern Brazil and southern Chile also experienced extreme rainfall.
Drier-than-average regions included parts of Europe, the south-eastern US, Mexico, Central Asia and Australia, where the driest September on record was recorded.
