NASA blames fossil fuels, El Nino for 2023 being hottest on record

NASA said carbon emissions are causing temperatures to rise and driving more intense heavy waves and coastal flooding.

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed on Friday that 2023 marked the warmest year on record for the globe as the average temperature across the world was about 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit above NASA's baseline period of 1951-1990. 

NASA's new data largely matched figures released by European Union officials earlier in the week that also showed Earth had the warmest year on record. 

In releasing the data, NASA tried to paint a clear picture of a world in peril due to rising temperatures. Scientists say that rising temperatures are driving more intense heavy waves and coastal flooding. 

NASA says that human carbon emissions drive the long-term trend of rising temperatures. El Niño, aerosols, pollution and volcanic eruptions can affect temperatures on a year-to-year basis. 

With a shift to an El Niño pattern in 2023, temperatures became even warmer than usual in the second half of the year. Scientists say that El Niño continues to impact global weather as it's not expected to peak until February, March or April.