2022 ended with a historically mild New Year’s Eve. It is also the hottest year, dethroning 2020. It is quite a symbol, at the end of a year characterized by the climatic emergency both in the extreme events experienced and in the public debate.
Between the publication of the 6th IPCC report, the public debate on ecological actions and record heat waves, 2022 was the year of climate emergency. To top it off, the transition to the year 2023 was made under the sign of global warming. The end of December was exceptionally mild and Météo-France had warned: the thermal anomaly, that is to say the excess compared to the normal for the season, was forecast at +8 degrees Celsius at least.
In update of its balance sheet of the period, on January 2, Météo-France is now able to specify the temperatures. And, they are records. The night of December 30 to 31 is “ the mildest ever observed in winter (December/January/February) since monitoring temperatures in 1947. The minimum temperature was 11.2 degrees. The previous record was 11.1 degrees (January 19, 2007).
This resulted in several local records in France for minimum temperature for the period:
- Rennes reached 14.1° (previous record: 13.9° on December 11, 1961),
- Nantes: 14.3° (previous record: 13.8° on December 21, 1989),
- Paris: 14° (previous record: 14° on December 11, 1961),
- Rouen: 13.2° (previous record: 12.3° on December 22, 2020).
In total, around thirty Météo-France stations recorded a record of this type. Added to this are maximum temperature records. For example :
- Rennes: 18° (against 17.8° on December 19, 2015),
- Strasbourg: 18.6° (against 18.3° on December 19, 1965),
- Abbeville: 16.3° (against 16.1° on December 7, 2000).
“The year 2023 is off to an exceptional start”
The sweetness continued its momentum for the first day of the year 2023. “ The year 2023 is off to an exceptional start, even if the national thermal indicator, with 13.3°C, is positioned a little below that of December 31, 2022 “Said Météo-France.
2022, an extreme climate year
On the scale of France, the New Year has the highest thermal excess… ahead of that of June 18 (which was already +8.2°) and that of October 28 (+7.4°). The symbol is not the least: even without this record month of December, the year 2022 was already the hottest year ever recorded in France – well ahead of the year 2020, that of the previous record.
Extreme weather events have punctuated the past year. Several episodes of high heat marked France this summer, but also a historic drought.
France is far from being the only one concerned. Summer 2022 is the hottest across Europe. Elsewhere in the world, India and Pakistan experienced an unprecedented heat wave, particularly in terms of its exceptional duration. This heat has also caused the collapse of a bridge.
Is 2022 a glimpse of the future?
Climate change causes or accentuates these anomalies. This is a warming of the planet, and more generally a disruption (there may therefore be other types of anomalies than heat). The exceptionally high temperatures of the year are warm compared to seasonal norms, but the latter will, in the long term, evolve because of this disruption. ” Very hot in the current climate, the year 2022 will become ‘normal’ in the middle of the 21st century », warns Météo-France.
It is the frequency of heat waves, in particular, which should increase. as well as their magnitude. However, there are still solutions: in the 6th report of the IPCC, the finding is certainly alarming, but the scientists consulted mention a large number of solutions, to which it would suffice to listen.
Public debate has intensified on ecology
The representation of the climate emergency is all the more topical as ecology was at the heart of the discussions this year. It should be remembered that the year 2022 is that of the publication of the last chapters of the 6th report of the IPCC, a major document, with undeniable scientific force. The conclusion was clear: it’s now or never, because we could approach a point of no return within three years to maintain the increase in warming at +1.5° maximum.
This publication is combined with strong news in terms of ecology:
- COP27, the current event dedicated to managing the climate emergency on an international scale, was disappointing in terms of mitigation solutions, while still resulting in the historic project of a fund for loss and damage. Implementation details are not yet known.
- COP15 Biodiversity (equally important) reached an agreement to protect 30% of the world’s biodiversity. Again, it remains to be done.
- The immoderate use of the jet, by the former Prime Minister Jean Castex, was strongly denounced during a symbolic period: the presidential campaign.
- The presidential campaign, moreover, demonstrated the still limited place of ecology in French politics, in particular during the televised debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.
- Actions by young ecologists were noteworthy: paintings (protected by a window) were sprinkled, and blocked roads. These actions, sometimes described as “unpopular”, because they were made to shock and alert, created a strong media controversy.
- The 2022 Football World Cup was notable for the ecological disaster it representsto general indifference, despite a vague boycott (also motivated by the violation of human rights in Qatar).
The icing on the cake: for his New Year wishes, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, said: “ Who could have predicted the climate crisis? “. A statement that will have made the scientists jump so false is it: the first IPCC report dates back to 1990 and warnings were sounded even earlier.
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