According to EU scientists, 2023 is "virtually certain" to be the warmest year in the last 125,000 years, breaking the previous year record from 2016. October saw the hottest temperatures on record for that month, exceeding the previous record from 2019 by 0.4 degrees Celsius. Scientists from the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service attributed the record breaking heat to continued greenhouse gas emissions and the natural El Nino weather pattern occurring this year, which warms parts of the Pacific Ocean.