Was 2023 the hottest year?

Recently I read somewhere that 2023 was the hottest year. With all the news about Climate Change, one can imagine I became a bit unsettled just using logic. In case there is doubt, please read the following excerpt.

“After seeing the 2023 climate analysis, I have to pause and say that the findings are astounding,” said NOAA Chief Scientist Dr. Sarah Kapnick. “Not only was 2023 the warmest year in NOAA’s 174-year climate record — it was the warmest by far (https://www.noaa.gov).”

I am not the one saying it, so I hope that was convincing enough. As Dr. Kapnick said: "it was the warmest by far." I am, however, not easily convinced.  And, if you are like me, you will probably do further research when reading something like this, which I did. Read the following information I found.

...the mid-Holocene, roughly 6,000 years ago, was generally warmer than today during summer in the Northern Hemisphere. In some locations, this could be true for winter as well (www.ncei.noaa.gov).

 

We are still in the Holocene period, by the way. Anyhow, based on this foregoing fact, if one reads further, one can say that there can be changes in Earth's orbit changing the distribution of solar radiation received many times, as the sun travels around the galaxy. Our solar system takes around 225 million Earth years to orbit the galaxy. It seems to me that it is false to say that 2023 was the warmest year. The warmest year since we've done modern record keeping may perhaps be true. I am referring to the use of satellite and computers...etc. One hundred plus years vs eleven- thousand, or a million is hardly anything in the span of time by comparison. Moreover, to say humans are responsible for climate change, as it is often said by politicians, also seems false since we don't really seem to have sufficient data to prove this within a large expanse of time, and we really don't know the future. A large asteroid hitting us or a super volcano erupting can affect our planet at any given moment, thus immediately changing all weather patterns.

One thing I can say is that we have ice core samples from Greenland and Antarctica, which contain evidence going back many thousands of years prior to the present Holocene era. The Holocene era thus far very likely has some of the best climate ever on our planet. Warm weather is awesome, for instance. Why? We usually get better harvests, which means people eat better, and get more nutrients in their food staying healthier consequently. Cold weather, on the other hand, is not healthy. More people die from cold weather, seemingly. The New York Times, Washington Post, and CBS reported dozens of deaths from winter storms just this past January 2024 alone.

Planet Earth has been around billions of years, and we really don't have enough data right now to argue that we humans have caused climate change. Maybe a thousand years from now we will perhaps know better. Sure, there is climate change, it’s no hoax, the climate is always changing. Should we take care of the planet, and be good stewards to it when possible and able? Yes, but I'm not convinced that 2023 was the warmest year. Not by far!

 

References:

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/12%20Mid-Holocene%20Warm%20Period%20%26%20Penultimate%20Interglacial%20Period%20%26%20Early%20Eocene%20Period%20-FINAL%20OCT%202021.pdf

https://www.noaa.gov/news/2023-was-worlds-warmest-year-on-record-by-far#:~:text=%E2%80%9CNot%20only%20was%202023%20the,was%20the%20warmest%20by%20far.