2022 was one of warmest on record for the Maritimes and the planet, says global report

For the third consecutive year, the Maritimes experienced some of the warmest temperatures on record.

Air and water temperatures continue to rise with climate change, meterologists say

Ryan Snoddon · CBC News · Posted: Apr 21, 2023 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: April 21, 2023

A chart showing rising temperatures. — The eight warmest years on record have all occurred since 2015. (World Meteorological Organization)

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its state of the climate report Friday, which confirms that 2022 was the fifth or sixth warmest globally.

The WMO report also stated that the years 2015 to 2022 were the eight warmest reported in data stretching back to 1850. It blames excessive levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases for the "planetary scale changes on land, in the oceans and in the atmosphere."

Here in the Maritimes, the trend is a similar one.

Last year was one of the warmest years on record in the Maritimes, marking the third consecutive year that temperatures in the region have ranked either in the top five or top 10.

With records going back to the late 1800s here in the Maritimes, the top 10 warmest years list is now almost exclusively filled with years since 1999 — yet another sign of our changing climate globally and regionally.

It was the summer and fall seasons of 2022 that particularly stood out here in the Maritimes, especially the months of August, October, November and December, which all finished as some of the warmest on record.

A map with temperature rankings. — Most of the Maritimes saw the 5th or 6th warmest year on record in 2022. Yarmouth saw its 2nd warmest, only behind 2021. Dates in brackets behind community names are when temperatures started being reported. (Ryan Snoddon/CBC)

A list of warmest temperature years in the maritimes. — Many of the warmest years on record have occurred since 1999. (CBC/Ryan Snoddon)

Sea surface temperature anomalies in the region on September 1st 2022. — Sea surface temperatures in the region on Sept. 1, 2022, with temperatures above the long-term average pictured in yellow, orange, red, brown and pink. Below-average temperatures are in blue and green. (WeatherBell Analytics)

The warmer summer and fall also helped to bump regional ocean temperatures to some of the warmest that have been recorded, both on the surface and depths below.

Globally, the WMO reported ocean heat reached a new observed record high in 2022 and that, despite continuing La Niña conditions, 58 per cent of the ocean surface experienced at least one marine heatwave during 2022.