Exceptionally high temperatures in Armenia in 2023: orographic effects, snowpack response and synoptic drivers

Climate conditions in 2023 were exceptionally warm globally. The mean global near-surface temperature in 2023 was ranked as the second warmest since 1850, while the warmest year was observed in 2024 1 . The mean temperature anomaly in 2023 was 1.45 ± 0.12 °C compared to the 1850–1900 average 2 , 3 . The jump in global mean annual temperature in 2023 relative to 2022 (0.31 °C) has been the strongest over the last 143 years 4 . Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) significantly contributed to the warming in 2023. Warm SST anomalies were observed at multiple ocean basins at the same time 5 . The transition from multi-year La Niña conditions to El Niño conditions observed in 2023 5 , 6 , 7 likely contributed to the strong warming of SSTs over the globe. SST anomalies exceeded 1.5 °C over the tropical North Atlantic and the western tropical Indian Ocean. The warm SSTs and air temperatures substantially reduced the global sea-ice extent and the sea ice around Antarctica in 2023 7 . Europe experienced a record number of days with “extreme heat stress” in 2023 8 . Extremely high temperatures affected the United States and Mexico in July, and the maximum temperature reached 53.3 °C in Death Valley 9 . Overall, 42% of the globe experienced exceptionally warm conditions in 2023 3 . Widespread wildfires were observed over Canada and Greece 2 , 10 , 11 . The deadliest Storm Daniel over the Mediterranean caused thousands of deaths in September, while damages exceeded $20 billion 12 . The formation of Storm Daniel was partly attributed to anomalously high SSTs in the Mediterranean observed during summer 2023.