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Highlights:
NOAA ranks 2023 as the warmest year in its global temperature record, which dates back to 1850.
There is a one-in-three chance that 2024 will be warmer than 2023 and a 99% chance that 2024 will rank among the five warmest years on record.
Upper ocean heat content—the amount of heat stored in the top 2000 meters of the ocean—was record high in 2023.
According to the December 26, 2023 U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to exceptional drought covers 27.1% of the United States including Puerto Rico, a decrease from last week’s 27.9%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) slightly decreased from 5.5% last week to 5.4%.