The State of the Climate international report (the 34th) with the results of a scientific assessment of the state of the climate of our planet includes observational data from ISU biologists obtained as part of the long-term monitoring project of Lake Baikal “Point No. 1” of ISU Research Institute of Biology.
Maxim Timofeev, Director of ISU Research Institute of Biology, notes:
“State of the Climate” is probably the main scientific document on climate processes that all key experts of the planet work on.
The current version of the report presents research materials from 670 scientists from 56 countries. The report provides an objective summary of the state of global climate processes with an assessment of the consequences of events occurring in the planet’s atmosphere, on continents and in the ocean. This year’s report presents research materials from five scientific organizations from Russia: ISU Research Institute of Biology, Institute of Global Climate and Ecology named after Academician Yu.A. Israel, the Earth Cryosphere Institute of Tyumen Scientific Centre of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Geophysical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Hydrometeorological Research Center of Russian Federation.
Maxim Timofeev on the main trends reflected in the report:
As follows from the observations of scientists, the concentration of greenhouse gases continues to grow. In 2023, it amounted to 419.3±0.1 ppm, which is 50% higher than in the pre-industrial era, and its growth compared to the level of 2022 was 2.8 ppm. The global temperature over both oceans and continents was the highest recorded since 1850. The air temperature over land is also record high. At the same time, the highest temperatures in the history of observations were recorded in China and continental Europe, and the second highest in Russia and India. A record decrease in the mass of glaciers in the Alps has been recorded (since measurements began in the 1970s). The glaciers “St. Anna Glacier” (Switzerland) and “Ice Worm Glacier” (USA) have completely melted. In the Arctic, summer temperatures were also record high.
The surface water temperature of the World Ocean was the highest in 170 years of observations, surpassing the previous record of the year 2016 by 0.13 °C. The average global ocean level has been record high over the past 12 years, exceeding the level of the year 1993 by 101.4 mm, and satellite measurements showed an increase of 8.1± 1.5 mm compared to 2022. For most of the studied lakes (the report presents materials on 1949 lakes), the deviation from the long-term average (for 1995-2020) surface water temperature in 2023 was +0.46 °C, according to satellite temperature measurements. The average ten-year increase in this indicator is 0.20±0.01 °C. For 38 lakes, for example, our Lake Baikal, temperature measurements are given directly. For this group of lakes, the deviation was +0.78 °C.
At the same time, the situation for our Baikal as a whole differs from the general trends. If in 2023 the deviation from the average long-term temperature was +4 °C, then in 2022 it was -4 °C. It is important to note that one of the main characteristics of the lake Baikal is the regular alternation of positive and negative temperature fluctuations. This rather unique feature of our lake must be taken into account when making forecasts and applying different “linear” climate models. It is much more complicated when working with Baikal.
Well, in general, it is obvious that our small planet is getting hotter and hotter.
And it would be good for everyone to take it into account...
For reference
State of the Climate is a Special Supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
