GLOBAL CLIMATE CONDITIONS IN 2019 AND 2020

Abstract

The global mean temperature for 2019 was 1.1°C and for 2020 1.25°C above preindustrial levels. 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record. The past six years, including 2020, have been the six warmest years on record. Levels of greenhouse gases continued to increase. In 2019 the ozone hole above the Antarctic was below the long-term mean and dissipated earlier than usual, but in 2020 the ozone hole regained intensity, and was also surprisingly intense above the Arctic reaching the record intensity. The sea level continued to rise. The Arctic sea-ice extent in September 2020 was the second lowest on record. In 2019, heatwaves combined with long periods of drought were linked to wildfires of unprecedented size in Australia and in Siberia and other Arctic regions. Intense heatwaves also occurred in 2020. The 2020 North Atlantic hurricane season was exceptionally active.