On November 9, 2023, journalist Heleen Ekker, from RTL Nieuws, wrote about the warmest twelve months in history (Last Twelve Months Warmer Than Ever Recorded, 2023). She based her statement on research from Climate Central. She said that the past twelve months were the warmest period ever recorded, with temperatures 1.3 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial era (1850). Her claim turns out to be true.
Heleen Ekker’s statement immediately draws attention because it contains a lot of data and appears to be based on hard facts. However, there is also some confusion because it is not immediately clear which country this applies to. Does this apply to the Netherlands, Europe, or the entire world? That is not immediately clear. It is also important to check whether it is indeed 1.3 degrees Celsius because when we talk about global warming, every degree matters significantly.
The claim is based on research from Climate Central, a group of climate scientists (The Hottest 12-month Stretch in Recorded History | Climate Central 2023). Originally driven by significant concern and the low priority the public placed on the warming planet (Our Story | Climate Central, n.d.). The organization collaborates with news outlets and conducts research on climate change. This seems to be a professional and reliable source. However, the specific origins of the numbers are not clearly stated in the research.
This brings us to Heleen Ekker, a climate specialist for RTL Nieuws and author of several books on climate change. Would she have a stake in global warming? No, we do not assume that. However, a negative article was once written about her as a journalist (Labohm, n.d.). It claimed she engages in “framing,” “advocacy,” and “biased reporting.” This article comes from a site led by science journalist and former climate researcher Hajo Smit, who is skeptical about climate change.
Jaco van Wezel, editor-in-chief of Infoplaza (which includes Buienradar and Weeronline), considers Climate Central a reliable source. He says that “the statement is definitely accurate.” The research he provides shows slightly different numbers but for a different time period. A study by Copernicus indicates that the past twelve months (all of 2023) were almost 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer (Global Climate Highlights 2023, n.d.). This contrasts with the 1.3 degrees Celsius figure (November 2022 to November 2023). The numbers are therefore very close. According to yet another study, we have seen global average temperatures consistently well above the 1979-2000 average since the summer of 2023 (Climate Reanalyzer, n.d.).
Conclusion
The conclusion is that the statement is correct. This is because Climate Central is an independent organization that presents comparative temperatures similar to other studies. While it is not entirely clear where the temperatures come from, that is a minor caveat that can be noted. It is clear that journalist Ekker is specialized in this topic, so her statement can be seen as true.
RESEARCH | ARTICLE: Pascal Veltman, Caitlin Timmerije – Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, The Netherlands
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