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John T. Allen
,
Alexandre B. Pezza
, and
Mitchell T. Black

Abstract

A global climatology for rapid cyclone intensification has been produced from the second NCEP reanalysis (NCEP2), the 25-yr Japanese Reanalysis (JRA-25), and the ECMWF reanalyses over the period 1979–2008. An improved (combined) criterion for identifying explosive cyclones has been developed based on preexisting definitions, offering a more balanced, normalized climatological distribution. The combined definition was found to significantly alter the population of explosive cyclones, with a reduction in “artificial” systems, which are found to compose 20% of the population determined by earlier definitions. Seasonally, winter was found to be the dominant formative period in both hemispheres, with a lower degree of interseasonal variability in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). Considered over the period 1979–2008, little change is observed in the frequency of systems outside of natural interannual variability in either hemisphere. Significant statistical differences have been found between reanalyses in the SH, while in contrast the Northern Hemisphere (NH) was characterized by strong positive correlations between reanalyses in almost all examined cases. Spatially, explosive cyclones are distributed into several distinct regions, with two regions in the northwest Pacific and the North Atlantic in the NH and three main regions in the SH. High-resolution and modern reanalysis data were also found to increase the climatology population of rapidly intensifying systems. This indicates that the reanalyses have apparently undergone increasing improvements in consistency over time, particularly in the SH.

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Howard J. Diamond
,
Carl J. Schreck
,
Adam Allgood
,
Emily J. Becker
,
Eric S. Blake
,
Francis G. Bringas
,
Suzana J. Camargo
,
Lin Chen
,
Caio A.S. Coelho
,
Nicolas Fauchereau
,
Chris Fogarty
,
Stanley B. Goldenberg
,
Gustavo Goni
,
Daniel S. Harnos
,
Qiong He
,
Zeng-Zhen Hu
,
Philip J. Klotzbach
,
John A. Knaff
,
Arun Kumar
,
Michelle L’Heureux
,
Chris W. Landsea
,
I-I. Lin
,
Andrew M. Lorrey
,
Jing-Jia Luo
,
Andrew D. Magee
,
Richard J. Pasch
,
Alexandre B. Pezza
,
Matthew Rosencrans
,
Jozef Rozkošný
,
Blair C. Trewin
,
Ryan E. Truchelut
,
Bin Wang
,
Hui Wang
, and
Kimberly M. Wood
Open access
Howard J. Diamond
,
Carl J. Schreck III
,
Adam Allgood
,
Emily J. Becker
,
Eric S. Blake
,
Francis G. Bringas
,
Suzana J. Camargo
,
Lin Chen
,
Caio A. S. Coelho
,
Nicolas Fauchereau
,
Stanley B. Goldenberg
,
Gustavo Goni
,
Michael S. Halpert
,
Qiong He
,
Zeng-Zhen Hu
,
Philip J. Klotzbach
,
John A. Knaff
,
Arun Kumar
,
Chris W. Landsea
,
Michelle L’Heureux
,
I.-I. Lin
,
Andrew M. Lorrey
,
Jing-Jia Luo
,
Andrew D. Magee
,
Richard J. Pasch
,
Alexandre B. Pezza
,
Matthew Rosencrans
,
Blair C. Trewin
,
Ryan E. Truchelut
,
Bin Wang
,
Hui Wang
,
Kimberly M. Wood
, and
John-Mark Woolley
Free access
Stephen Baxter
,
Gerald D Bell
,
Eric S Blake
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Francis G Bringas
,
Suzana J Camargo
,
Lin Chen
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Caio A. S Coelho
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Ricardo Domingues
,
Stanley B Goldenberg
,
Gustavo Goni
,
Nicolas Fauchereau
,
Michael S Halpert
,
Qiong He
,
Philip J Klotzbach
,
John A Knaff
,
Michelle L'Heureux
,
Chris W Landsea
,
I.-I Lin
,
Andrew M Lorrey
,
Jing-Jia Luo
,
Andrew D Magee
,
Richard J Pasch
,
Petra R Pearce
,
Alexandre B Pezza
,
Matthew Rosencrans
,
Blair C Trewin
,
Ryan E Truchelut
,
Bin Wang
,
H Wang
,
Kimberly M Wood
, and
John-Mark Woolley
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Howard J. Diamond
,
Carl J. Schreck III
,
Emily J. Becker
,
Gerald D. Bell
,
Eric S. Blake
,
Stephanie Bond
,
Francis G. Bringas
,
Suzana J. Camargo
,
Lin Chen
,
Caio A. S. Coelho
,
Ricardo Domingues
,
Stanley B. Goldenberg
,
Gustavo Goni
,
Nicolas Fauchereau
,
Michael S. Halpert
,
Qiong He
,
Philip J. Klotzbach
,
John A. Knaff
,
Michelle L'Heureux
,
Chris W. Landsea
,
I.-I. Lin
,
Andrew M. Lorrey
,
Jing-Jia Luo
,
Kyle MacRitchie
,
Andrew D. Magee
,
Ben Noll
,
Richard J. Pasch
,
Alexandre B. Pezza
,
Matthew Rosencrans
,
Michael K. Tippet
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Blair C. Trewin
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Ryan E. Truchelut
,
Bin Wang
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Hui Wang
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Kimberly M. Wood
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John-Mark Woolley
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Steven H. Young
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H. J. Diamond
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C. J. Schreck
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Adam Allgood
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Emily J. Becker
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Eric S. Blake
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Francis G. Bringas
,
Suzana J. Camargo
,
Randall Cerveny
,
Lin Chen
,
Caio A.S. Coelho
,
Howard J. Diamond
,
Craig Earl-Spurr
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Nicolas Fauchereau
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Chris Fogarty
,
Stanley B. Goldenberg
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Daniel S. Harnos
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Qiong He
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Zeng-Zhen Hu
,
Philip J. Klotzbach
,
John A. Knaff
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Arun Kumar
,
Michelle L’Heureux
,
Chris W. Landsea
,
I-I Lin
,
Hosmay Lopez
,
Andrew M. Lorrey
,
Jing-Jia Luo
,
Andrew D. Magee
,
Richard J. Pasch
,
Linda Paterson
,
Alexandre B. Pezza
,
Matthew Rosencrans
,
Carl J. Schreck
,
Blair C. Trewin
,
Ryan E. Truchelut
,
John Uehling
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Bin Wang
,
Hui Wang
, and
Kimberly M. Wood
Open access
Tim Boyer
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Brandon Ahmasuk
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Laura S. Aldeco
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Mihai Alexe
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Eric J. Alfaro
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Richard P. Allan
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Adam Allgood
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Lincoln. M. Alves
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Jorge A. Amador
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John Anderson
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Orlane Anneville
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Yasuyuki Aono
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Anthony Arguez
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Carlo Arosio
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Jonathan Barichivich
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John E. Barnes
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Sandra Barreira
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Rebecca L. Beadling
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Hylke E. Beck
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Emily J. Becker
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E. Bekele
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Guillem Martín Bellido
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Nicolas Bellouin
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Angela Benedetti
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Rasmus Benestad
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Christine Berne
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Deniz Bozkurt
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Francis G. Bringas
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Francis Bringas
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Dennis Buechler
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Brandon Bukunt
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Blanca Calderón
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Suzana J. Camargo
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Jayaka Campbell
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Diego Campos
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Laura Carrea
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Brendan R. Carter
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Ivona Cetinić
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Don P. Chambers
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Duo Chan
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Elise Chandler
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Kai-Lan Chang
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Hua Chen
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Lin Chen
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Lijing Cheng
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Vincent Y. S. Cheng
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Leah Chomiak
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John R. Christy
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Eui-Seok Chung
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Dmitry Divine
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Martin T. Dokulil
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Markus G. Donat
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Shenfu Dong
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Wouter A. Dorigo
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Caroline Drost Jensen
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Matthew L. Druckenmiller
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Paula Drumond
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Marcel du Plessis
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Hilary A. Dugan
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Dashkhuu Dulamsuren
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Devon Dunmire
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Robert J. H. Dunn
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Imke Durre
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Geoff Dutton
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Gregory Duveiller
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Mithat Ekici
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Alesksandra Elias Chereque
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M. ElKharrim
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Jhan-Carlo Espinoza
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Thomas W. Estilow
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Nicole Estrella
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Nicolas Fauchereau
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Robert S. Fausto
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vitali E. Fioletov
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Ryan L. Fogt
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Michael J. Foster
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Bryan A. Franz
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Helen A. Fricker
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Stacey M. Frith
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Meng Gao
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Judith Garforth
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Jay Garg
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Badin Gibbes
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Sarah T. Gille
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John Gilson
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Karin Gleason
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Nadine Gobron
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Scott J. Goetz
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Stanley B. Goldenberg
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Gustavo Goni
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Steven Goodman
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Atsushi Goto
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Jens-Uwe Grooß
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Alexander Gruber
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Guojun Gu
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Charles “Chip” P. Guard
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S. Hagos
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Sebastian Hahn
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Leopold Haimberger
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Bradley D. Hall
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Benjamin D. Hamlington
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Edward Hanna
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Inger Hanssen-Bauer
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Daniel S. Harnos
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Ian Harris
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Qiong He
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Richard R. Heim Jr.
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Sverker Hellström
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Deborah L. Hemming
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Stefan Hendricks
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J. Hicks
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Hugo G. Hidalgo
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Martin Hirschi
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W. Hobbs
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Robert M. Holmes
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Robert Holzworth
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Filip Hrbáček
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Guojie Hu
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Zeng-Zhen Hu
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Boyin Huang
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Hongjie Huang
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Dale F. Hurst
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Iolanda Ialongo
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Antje Inness
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Ketil Isaksen
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Masayoshi Ishii
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Gerardo Jadra
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Svetlana Jevrejeva
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Viju O. John
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W. Johns
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Bjørn Johnsen
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Bryan Johnson
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Gregory C. Johnson
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Philip D. Jones
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Timothy Jones
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Simon A. Josey
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G. Jumaux
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Robert Junod
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Andreas Kääb
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K. Kabidi
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Johannes W. Kaiser
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Robb S.A. Kaler
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Lars Kaleschke
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Seong-Joong Kim
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John A. Knaff
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Akash Koppa
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Benjamin M. Kraemer
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Natalya A. Kramarova
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A. C. Kruger
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Arun Kumar
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Michelle L’Heureux
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Sofia La Fuente
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Alo Laas
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Zachary M. Labe
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Rick Lader
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Hoang Phuc Lam
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Peter Landschützer
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Timothy Lang
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Kathleen O. Lantz
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Eric Leuliette
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Kinson H. Y. Leung
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Jan L. Lieser
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Tanja Likso
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I-I. Lin
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Jackie Lindsey
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Yakun Liu
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Ricardo Locarnini
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Norman G. Loeb
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Bryant D. Loomis
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Andrew M. Lorrey
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Diego Loyola
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Rui Lu
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Rick Lumpkin
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Kari Luojus
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John M. Lyman
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Stephen C. Maberly
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Matthew J. Macander
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Michael MacFerrin
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Graeme A. MacGilchrist
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Michelle L. MacLennan
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Remi Madelon
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Andrew D. Magee
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Florence Magnin
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Jostein Mamen
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Ken D. Mankoff
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Gloria L. Manney
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Izolda Marcinonienė
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Jose A. Marengo
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Mohammadi Marjan
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Ana E. Martínez
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Robert A. Massom
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Shin-Ichiro Matsuzaki
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Linda May
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C. McBride
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Matthew F. McCabe
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James W. McClelland
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Michael J. McPhaden
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Tim R. Mcvicar
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Carl A. Mears
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Walter N. Meier
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A. Mekonnen
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Annette Menzel
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Christopher J. Merchant
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Mark A. Merrifield
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Michael F. Meyer
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Tristan Meyers
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David E. Mikolajczyk
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John B. Miller
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Diego G. Miralles
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Noelia Misevicius
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Alexey Mishonov
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Gary T. Mitchum
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Ben I. Moat
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Leander Moesinger
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Aurel Moise
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Jorge Molina-Carpio
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Ghislaine Monet
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Stephan A. Montzka
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Twila A. Moon
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G. W. K. Moore
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Natali Mora
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Johnny Morán
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Claire Morehen
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Colin Morice
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A. E. Mostafa
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Thomas L. Mote
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Ivan Mrekaj
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Lawrence Mudryk
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Jens Mühle
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Rolf Müller
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David Nance
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Eric R. Nash
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R. Steven Nerem
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Paul A. Newman
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Julien P. Nicolas
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Juan J. Nieto
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Jeannette Noetzli
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Ben Noll
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Yoshinori Oikawa
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Timothy J. Osborn
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James E. Overland
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Mark Parrington
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Julia K. Parrish
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Donald K. Perovich
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Guðrún Nína Petersen
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Kyle Petersen
,
Irina Petropavlovskikh
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Alek Petty
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Alexandre B. Pezza
,
Luciano P. Pezzi
,
Coda Phillips
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Gareth K. Phoenix
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Don Pierson
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Izidine Pinto
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Vanda Pires
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Michael Pitts
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Stephen Po-Chedley
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Paolo Pogliotti
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Kristin Poinar
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Lorenzo Polvani
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Wolfgang Preimesberger
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Colin Price
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Merja Pulkkanen
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Sarah G. Purkey
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Bo Qiu
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Kenny Quisbert
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Willy R. Quispe
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M. Rajeevan
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Andrea M. Ramos
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William J. Randel
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Mika Rantanen
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Marilyn N. Raphael
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James Reagan
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Cristina Recalde
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Phillip Reid
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Samuel Rémy
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Alejandra J. Reyes Kohler
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Lucrezia Ricciardulli
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Andrew D. Richardson
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Robert Ricker
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David A. Robinson
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M. Robjhon
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Willy Rocha
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Matthew Rodell
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Esteban Rodriguez Guisado
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Nemesio Rodriguez-Fernandez
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Vladimir E. Romanovsky
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Josyane Ronchail
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Matthew Rosencrans
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Karen H. Rosenlof
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Benjamin Rösner
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Henrieke Rösner
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Alexei Rozanov
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Jozef Rozkošný
,
Frans Rubek
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Olga O. Rusanovskaya
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This Rutishauser
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C. T. Sabeerali
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Roberto Salinas
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Ahira Sánchez-Lugo
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Michelle L. Santee
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Marcelo Santini
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Katsunari Sato
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Parnchai Sawaengphokhai
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A. Sayouri
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Theodore Scambos
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Verena Schenzinger
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Semjon Schimanke
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Robert W. Schlegel
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Claudia Schmid
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Martin Schmid
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Udo Schneider
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Carl J. Schreck
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Cristina Schultz
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Science Systems and Applications Inc.
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Z. T. Segele
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Serhat Sensoy
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Shawn P. Serbin
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Mark C. Serreze
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Amsari Mudzakir Setiawan
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Alexander I. Shiklomanov
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David A. Siegel
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F. Sima
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Adam Smith
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Viktoria Sofieva
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Everaldo Souza
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Sandra Spillane
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O. P. Sreejith
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A. K. Srivastava
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Paul W. Stackhouse Jr.
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Sharon Stammerjohn
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Ryan Stauffer
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Wolfgang Steinbrecht
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Andrea K. Steiner
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Jose L. Stella
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Tannecia S. Stephenson
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Pietro Stradiotti
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Susan E. Strahan
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Dmitry A. Streletskiy
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Divya E. Surendran
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Anya Suslova
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Tove Svendby
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William Sweet
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Kiyotoshi Takahashi
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Kazuto Takemura
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Suzanne E. Tank
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Michael A. Taylor
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Marco Tedesco
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Stephen J. Thackeray
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W. M. Thiaw
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Emmanuel Thibert
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Richard L. Thoman
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Andrew F. Thompson
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Philip R. Thompson
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Xiangshan Tian-Kunze
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Mary-Louise Timmermans
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Maxim A. Timofeyev
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Skie Tobin
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Hans Tømmervik
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Kleareti Tourpali
,
Lidia Trescilo
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Mikhail Tretiakov
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Blair C. Trewin
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Joaquin A. Triñanes
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Adrian Trotman
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Ryan E. Truchelut
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Luke D. Trusel
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Mari R. Tye
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Ronald van der A
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Robin van der Schalie
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Gerard van der Schrier
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Cedric J. Van Meerbeeck
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Arnold J.H. van vliet
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Ahad Vazife
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Piet Verburg
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Jean-Paul Vernier
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Isaac J. Vimont
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Katrina Virts
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Sebastián Vivero
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Denis L. Volkov
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Holger Vömel
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Russell S. Vose
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(Skip)
,
John E. Walsh
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Bin Wang
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Hui Wang
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Muyin Wang
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Ray H. J. Wang
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Xinyue Wang
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Rik Wanninkhof
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Taran Warnock
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Mark Weber
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Melinda Webster
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Adrian Wehrlé
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Caihong Wen
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Toby K. Westberry
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Matthew J. Widlansky
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David N. Wiese
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Jeannette D. Wild
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Jonathan D. Wille
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Kate M. Willett
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Earle Williams
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J. Willis
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Takmeng Wong
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Kimberly M. Wood
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Richard Iestyn Woolway
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Ping-Ping Xie
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Dedi Yang
,
Xungang Yin
,
Ziqi Yin
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Zhenzhong Zeng
,
Huai-min Zhang
,
Li Zhang
,
Peiqun Zhang
,
Lin Zhao
,
Xinjia Zhou
,
Zhiwei Zhu
,
Jerry R. Ziemke
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Markus Ziese
,
Scott Zolkos
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Ruxandra M. Zotta
,
Cheng-Zhi Zou
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Jessicca Allen
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Amy V. Camper
,
Bridgette O. Haley
,
Gregory Hammer
,
S. Elizabeth Love-Brotak
,
Laura Ohlmann
,
Lukas Noguchi
,
Deborah B. Riddle
, and
Sara W. Veasey

Abstract

—J. BLUNDEN, T. BOYER, AND E. BARTOW-GILLIES

Earth’s global climate system is vast, complex, and intricately interrelated. Many areas are influenced by global-scale phenomena, including the “triple dip” La Niña conditions that prevailed in the eastern Pacific Ocean nearly continuously from mid-2020 through all of 2022; by regional phenomena such as the positive winter and summer North Atlantic Oscillation that impacted weather in parts the Northern Hemisphere and the negative Indian Ocean dipole that impacted weather in parts of the Southern Hemisphere; and by more localized systems such as high-pressure heat domes that caused extreme heat in different areas of the world. Underlying all these natural short-term variabilities are long-term climate trends due to continuous increases since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the atmospheric concentrations of Earth’s major greenhouse gases.

In 2022, the annual global average carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere rose to 417.1±0.1 ppm, which is 50% greater than the pre-industrial level. Global mean tropospheric methane abundance was 165% higher than its pre-industrial level, and nitrous oxide was 24% higher. All three gases set new record-high atmospheric concentration levels in 2022.

Sea-surface temperature patterns in the tropical Pacific characteristic of La Niña and attendant atmospheric patterns tend to mitigate atmospheric heat gain at the global scale, but the annual global surface temperature across land and oceans was still among the six highest in records dating as far back as the mid-1800s. It was the warmest La Niña year on record. Many areas observed record or near-record heat. Europe as a whole observed its second-warmest year on record, with sixteen individual countries observing record warmth at the national scale. Records were shattered across the continent during the summer months as heatwaves plagued the region. On 18 July, 104 stations in France broke their all-time records. One day later, England recorded a temperature of 40°C for the first time ever. China experienced its second-warmest year and warmest summer on record. In the Southern Hemisphere, the average temperature across New Zealand reached a record high for the second year in a row. While Australia’s annual temperature was slightly below the 1991–2020 average, Onslow Airport in Western Australia reached 50.7°C on 13 January, equaling Australia's highest temperature on record.

While fewer in number and locations than record-high temperatures, record cold was also observed during the year. Southern Africa had its coldest August on record, with minimum temperatures as much as 5°C below normal over Angola, western Zambia, and northern Namibia. Cold outbreaks in the first half of December led to many record-low daily minimum temperature records in eastern Australia.

The effects of rising temperatures and extreme heat were apparent across the Northern Hemisphere, where snow-cover extent by June 2022 was the third smallest in the 56-year record, and the seasonal duration of lake ice cover was the fourth shortest since 1980. More frequent and intense heatwaves contributed to the second-greatest average mass balance loss for Alpine glaciers around the world since the start of the record in 1970. Glaciers in the Swiss Alps lost a record 6% of their volume. In South America, the combination of drought and heat left many central Andean glaciers snow free by mid-summer in early 2022; glacial ice has a much lower albedo than snow, leading to accelerated heating of the glacier. Across the global cryosphere, permafrost temperatures continued to reach record highs at many high-latitude and mountain locations.

In the high northern latitudes, the annual surface-air temperature across the Arctic was the fifth highest in the 123-year record. The seasonal Arctic minimum sea-ice extent, typically reached in September, was the 11th-smallest in the 43-year record; however, the amount of multiyear ice—ice that survives at least one summer melt season—remaining in the Arctic continued to decline. Since 2012, the Arctic has been nearly devoid of ice more than four years old.

In Antarctica, an unusually large amount of snow and ice fell over the continent in 2022 due to several landfalling atmospheric rivers, which contributed to the highest annual surface mass balance, 15% to 16% above the 1991–2020 normal, since the start of two reanalyses records dating to 1980. It was the second-warmest year on record for all five of the long-term staffed weather stations on the Antarctic Peninsula. In East Antarctica, a heatwave event led to a new all-time record-high temperature of −9.4°C—44°C above the March average—on 18 March at Dome C. This was followed by the collapse of the critically unstable Conger Ice Shelf. More than 100 daily low sea-ice extent and sea-ice area records were set in 2022, including two new all-time annual record lows in net sea-ice extent and area in February.

Across the world’s oceans, global mean sea level was record high for the 11th consecutive year, reaching 101.2 mm above the 1993 average when satellite altimetry measurements began, an increase of 3.3±0.7 over 2021. Globally-averaged ocean heat content was also record high in 2022, while the global sea-surface temperature was the sixth highest on record, equal with 2018. Approximately 58% of the ocean surface experienced at least one marine heatwave in 2022. In the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand’s longest continuous marine heatwave was recorded.

A total of 85 named tropical storms were observed during the Northern and Southern Hemisphere storm seasons, close to the 1991–2020 average of 87. There were three Category 5 tropical cyclones across the globe—two in the western North Pacific and one in the North Atlantic. This was the fewest Category 5 storms globally since 2017. Globally, the accumulated cyclone energy was the lowest since reliable records began in 1981. Regardless, some storms caused massive damage. In the North Atlantic, Hurricane Fiona became the most intense and most destructive tropical or post-tropical cyclone in Atlantic Canada’s history, while major Hurricane Ian killed more than 100 people and became the third costliest disaster in the United States, causing damage estimated at $113 billion U.S. dollars. In the South Indian Ocean, Tropical Cyclone Batsirai dropped 2044 mm of rain at Commerson Crater in Réunion. The storm also impacted Madagascar, where 121 fatalities were reported.

As is typical, some areas around the world were notably dry in 2022 and some were notably wet. In August, record high areas of land across the globe (6.2%) were experiencing extreme drought. Overall, 29% of land experienced moderate or worse categories of drought during the year. The largest drought footprint in the contiguous United States since 2012 (63%) was observed in late October. The record-breaking megadrought of central Chile continued in its 13th consecutive year, and 80-year record-low river levels in northern Argentina and Paraguay disrupted fluvial transport. In China, the Yangtze River reached record-low values. Much of equatorial eastern Africa had five consecutive below-normal rainy seasons by the end of 2022, with some areas receiving record-low precipitation totals for the year. This ongoing 2.5-year drought is the most extensive and persistent drought event in decades, and led to crop failure, millions of livestock deaths, water scarcity, and inflated prices for staple food items.

In South Asia, Pakistan received around three times its normal volume of monsoon precipitation in August, with some regions receiving up to eight times their expected monthly totals. Resulting floods affected over 30 million people, caused over 1700 fatalities, led to major crop and property losses, and was recorded as one of the world’s costliest natural disasters of all time. Near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Petrópolis received 530 mm in 24 hours on 15 February, about 2.5 times the monthly February average, leading to the worst disaster in the city since 1931 with over 230 fatalities.

On 14–15 January, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai submarine volcano in the South Pacific erupted multiple times. The injection of water into the atmosphere was unprecedented in both magnitude—far exceeding any previous values in the 17-year satellite record—and altitude as it penetrated into the mesosphere. The amount of water injected into the stratosphere is estimated to be 146±5 Terragrams, or ∼10% of the total amount in the stratosphere. It may take several years for the water plume to dissipate, and it is currently unknown whether this eruption will have any long-term climate effect.

Open access
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,
J. Blunden
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R. J. H. Dunn
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Melanie Ades
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Robert Adler
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Susheel Adusumilli
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W. Agyakwah
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Laura S. Aldeco
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Adam Allgood
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
Michael A. Taylor
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,
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,
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,
Kleareti Tourpali
,
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,
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,
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,
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Ryan E. Truchelut
,
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,
Katherine Turner
,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
Rik Wanninkhof
,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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Gabriel J. Wolken
,
Takmeng Wong
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Kimberly M. Wood
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Richard Iestyn Woolway
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Bert Wouters
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Francis Wu
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Dedi Yang
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Xungang Yin
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Ziqi Yin
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Lisan Yu
,
Zhenzhong Zeng
,
Huai-min Zhang
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Peiqun Zhang
,
Lin Zhao
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Feng Zhong
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Zhiwei Zhu
,
Jerry R. Ziemke
,
Markus Ziese
,
Ruxandra M. Zotta
, and
Cheng-Zhi Zou

Abstract

—J. Blunden and T. Boyer

In 2023, La Niña conditions that generally prevailed in the eastern Pacific Ocean from mid-2020 into early 2023 gave way to a strong El Niño by October. Atmospheric concentrations of Earth’s major greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—all increased to record-high levels. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere rose to 419.3±0.1 ppm, which is 50% greater than the pre-industrial level. The growth from 2022 to 2023 was 2.8 ppm, the fourth highest in the record since the 1960s.

The combined short-term effects of El Niño and the long-term effects of increasing levels of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere contributed to new records for many essential climate variables reported here. The annual global temperature across land and oceans was the highest in records dating as far back as 1850, with the last seven months (June–December) having each been record warm. Over land, the globally averaged temperature was also record high. Dozens of countries reported record or near-record warmth for the year, including China and continental Europe as a whole (warmest on record), India and Russia (second warmest), and Canada (third warmest). Intense and widespread heatwaves were reported around the world. In Vietnam, an all-time national maximum temperature record of 44.2°C was observed at Tuong Duong on 7 May, surpassing the previous record of 43.4°C at Huong Khe on 20 April 2019. In Brazil, the air temperature reached 44.8°C in Araçuaí in Minas Gerais on 20 November, potentially a new national record and 12.8°C above normal.

The effect of rising temperatures was apparent in the cryosphere, where snow cover extent by June 2023 was the smallest in the 56-year record for North America and seventh smallest for the Northern Hemisphere overall. Heatwaves contributed to the greatest average mass balance loss for Alpine glaciers around the world since the start of the record in 1970. Due to rapid volume loss beginning in 2021, St. Anna Glacier in Switzerland and Ice Worm Glacier in the United States disappeared completely. In August, as a direct result of glacial thinning over the past 20 years, a glacial lake on a tributary of the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska burst through its ice dam and caused unprecedented flooding on Mendenhall River near Juneau.

Across the Arctic, the annual surface air temperature was the fourth highest in the 124-year record, and summer (July–September) was record warm. Smaller-than-normal snow cover extent in May and June contributed to the third-highest average peak tundra greenness in the 24-year record. In September, Arctic minimum sea ice extent was the fifth smallest in the 45-year satellite record. The 17 lowest September extents have all occurred in the last 17 years.

In Antarctica, temperatures for much of the year were up to 6°C above average over the Weddell Sea and along coastal Dronning Maud Land. The Antarctic Peninsula also experienced well-above-average temperatures during the 2022/23 melt season, which contributed to its fourth consecutive summer of above-average surface melt. On 21 February, Antarctic sea ice extent and sea ice area both reached all-time lows, surpassing records set just a year earlier. Over the course of the year, new daily record-low sea ice extents were set on 278 days. In some instances, these daily records were set by a large margin, for example, the extent on 6 July was 1.8 million km2 lower than the previous record low for that day.

Across the global oceans, the annual sea surface temperature was the highest in the 170-year record, far surpassing the previous record of 2016 by 0.13°C. Daily and monthly records were set from March onward, including an historic-high daily global mean sea surface temperature of 18.99°C recorded on 22 August. Approximately 94% of the ocean surface experienced at least one marine heatwave in 2023, while 27% experienced at least one cold spell. Globally averaged ocean heat content from the surface to 2000-m depth was record high in 2023, increasing at a rate equivalent to ∼0.7 Watts per square meter of energy applied over Earth’s surface. Global mean sea level was also record high for the 12th consecutive year, reaching 101.4 mm above the 1993 average when satellite measurements began, an increase of 8.1±1.5 mm over 2022 and the third highest year-over-year increase in the record.

A total of 82 named tropical storms were observed during the Northern and Southern Hemispheres’ storm seasons, below the 1991–2020 average of 87. Hurricane Otis became the strongest landfalling hurricane on record for the west coast of Mexico at 140 kt (72 m s−1), causing at least 52 fatalities and $12–16 billion U.S. dollars in damage. Freddy became the world’s longest-lived tropical cyclones on record, developing into a tropical cyclone on 6 February and finally dissipating on 12 March. Freddy crossed the full width of the Indian Ocean and made one landfall in Madagascar and two in Mozambique. In the Mediterranean Sea—outside of traditional tropical cyclone basins—heavy rains and flooding from Storm Daniel killed more than 4300 people and left more than 8000 missing in Libya.

The record-warm temperatures in 2023 created conditions that helped intensify the hydrological cycle. Measurements of total-column water vapor in the atmosphere were the highest on record, while the fraction of cloud area in the sky was the lowest since records began in 1980. The annual global mean precipitation total over land surfaces for 2023 was among the lowest since 1979, but global one-day maximum totals were close to average, indicating an increase in rainfall intensity.

In July, record-high areas of land across the globe (7.9%) experienced extreme drought, breaking the previous record of 6.2% in July 2022. Overall, 29.7% of land experienced moderate or worse categories of drought during the year, also a record. Mexico reported its driest (and hottest) year since the start of its record in 1950. In alignment with hot and prolonged dry conditions, Canada experienced its worst national wildfire season on record. Approximately 15 million hectares burned across the country, which was more than double the previous record from 1989. Smoke from the fires were transported far into the United States and even to western European countries. August to October 2023 was the driest three-month period in Australia in the 104-year record. Millions of hectares of bushfires burned for weeks in the Northern Territory. In South America, extreme drought developed in the latter half of the year through the Amazon basin. By the end of October, the Rio Negro at Manaus, a major tributary of the Amazon River, fell to its lowest water level since records began in 1902.

The transition from La Niña to El Niño helped bring relief to the prolonged drought conditions in equatorial eastern Africa. However, El Niño along with positive Indian Ocean dipole conditions also contributed to excessive rainfall that resulted in devastating floods over southeastern Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya during October to December that displaced around 1.5 million people. On 5 September, the town of Zagora, Greece, broke a national record for highest daily rainfall (754 mm in 21 hours, after which the station ceased reporting) due to Storm Daniel; this one-day accumulation was close to Zagora’s normal annual total.

Open access