Summer of 2023: Hottest in the Northern Hemisphere in 2,000 years

Research analyzing the trunks of 10,000 trees has revealed that the summer of 2023 was the hottest in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years, surpassing even the peak temperatures during the Roman Empire era. This finding, published in the journal Nature, overturns the previous understanding that the summer of 2023 was the hottest since 1850, when systematic temperature records began.

As trees grow, they form two rings per year in their trunks, which tend to be wider during warmer years, providing a record for scientists to study. According to the data, the average temperature of the summer in 2023 exceeded that of the summers from 1 to 1890 by 2.20°C and was 2.07°C higher than the corresponding period from 1850 to 1900. Additionally, the coldest summer in the last 2,000 years occurred in 536 AD, coinciding with a volcanic eruption, and was 3.93°C cooler than the summer of 2023.

To gauge the impacts of climate change, we compare current temperatures with those recorded during the period 1850-1900.

However, the scientists caution that their findings may not directly translate into global averages. Data for the southern hemisphere is limited, and its response to climate change differs due to its predominantly oceanic coverage compared to the northern hemisphere…