According to the German Meteorological Office (DWD), 2023 is on course to be the warmest year since records began in 1881.
The figure eclipses 2022’s annual temperature of 10.5 degrees, which was the previous warmest year and on par with 2018, making the past two years the two warmest on record.
While releasing the average annual temperature five days before the end of the year, the DWD will publish its official figures on December 29, including further details such as exact rainfall and sunshine levels.
Germany data mirrors global temperature rise
According to the EU climate change service Copernicus, 2023 was also globally the hottest year since records began.
According to Copernicus, global average temperatures were 1.46 degrees above the pre-industrial reference period from 1850 to 1900.
So far, 2023 has been 0.13 degrees warmer than the first 11 months of 2016, the previous record year.
To keep global warming below 1.5 degrees in the long term, as agreed in Paris in 2015, emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases must be reduced by 43% by 2030.
