The hottest 12-month stretch in recorded history

The period from November 2022 to October 2023 was the hottest 12-month stretch in recorded history, with a global average temperature 1.32°C above the pre-industrial baseline. Using the Climate Shift Index (CSI), Climate Central found that 90% of the global population (7.3 billion people) experienced at least 10 days of temperatures very strongly affected by climate change (CSI level 3 or higher). Approximately 1.9 billion people (24%) experienced a five-day heat wave strongly influenced by carbon pollution (CSI level 2 or higher). The report highlights an inequitable distribution of impacts, with small island developing states and least developed countries facing higher exposure, although heat waves also occurred in G20 nations. The analysis also links human-induced climate change to severe weather events, including deadly flooding in Africa and Libya, and record-breaking wildfires in Canada and Hawaii.

• The 12-month period from November 2022 to October 2023 was the hottest on record, with an estimated global average temperature of 1.32°C above the pre-industrial baseline (1850-1900).
• A vast majority of the global population experienced temperatures significantly influenced by human-caused climate change: 90% (7.3 billion people) had at least 10 days with a CSI of 3 or higher, and 73% (5.8 billion people) experienced more than a month of such temperatures.
• Approximately 24% of the global population (1.9 billion people) experienced a heat wave of at least five consecutive days that was strongly influenced by carbon pollution (CSI level 2 or higher).
• Climate-driven heat impacts are inequitably distributed, with the highest average CSI values found in small island developing states (2.7) and least developed countries (2.0), compared to G20 countries (0.8).
• Among the 700 analyzed cities with over 1 million people, Houston, Texas, had the longest extreme heat streak at 22 days, starting July 31, 2023.
• Human-induced climate change contributed to severe global weather events, including the deadliest storm in Africa's history (Storm Daniel) with over 4,000 victims, and wildfires in Canada that burned over 45 million acres.

APA

Climate Central (2023). The hottest 12-month stretch in recorded history. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/2MfZmFIqY4NQzkhiJ0KRzA/f8cc7af1b96686599c4eed317b3aba5d/Report_-_The_hottest_12-month_stretch_in_recorded_history.pdf

Chicago

Climate Central. The hottest 12-month stretch in recorded history. 2023. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/2MfZmFIqY4NQzkhiJ0KRzA/f8cc7af1b96686599c4eed317b3aba5d/Report_-_The_hottest_12-month_stretch_in_recorded_history.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=The hottest 12-month stretch in recorded history |date=9 November 2023 |url=https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/2MfZmFIqY4NQzkhiJ0KRzA/f8cc7af1b96686599c4eed317b3aba5d/Report_-_The_hottest_12-month_stretch_in_recorded_history.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentral2023hottest, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{The hottest 12-month stretch in recorded history}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/2MfZmFIqY4NQzkhiJ0KRzA/f8cc7af1b96686599c4eed317b3aba5d/Report_-_The_hottest_12-month_stretch_in_recorded_history.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }