Sort Of Warm

The latest in a litany of stories about last year’s record heat, is the CBC piece titled The year 2023 was one of the warmest on record for the Maritimes. It begins by stating: The year 2023 was by the far the warmest on record for the planet.

Amplifying that implied crisis, the article adds: In terms of average temperatures, 2023 was the fourth consecutive year that temperatures in the region have ranked in the top five to 10 warmest.

This visual is then provided:​
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The Maritimes saw most average temperatures rank in the top five to 10 warmest. Yarmouth saw its second warmest, only behind 2021. (Ryan Snoddon/CBC)
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​Wait a minute, if the planet’s hottest year ever was 2023, then it’s not very alarming that the Maritimes saw the 5th warmest or lower temperatures in 7 out of 8 locations.
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Another graphic shows the top 10 warmest years for 5 of the stations:
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Most of the warmest years on record have occurred since 1998. (Ryan Snoddon/CBC)
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​Again, this is not particularly compelling and does not support the article’s linked CBC story that 2023 was the hottest year on record - by a long shot.

It is clear that the reporter is trying to make the (weak) case that there was record heat in Eastern Canada last year. For his readership of doomscrollers, the story’s title along with the opening warmest on record comment is enough quick-verification that the Climate Change disaster is worsening. Next.

This would be a reasonable news report if it was meant to convey a little skepticism, but it is mindlessly convoluted. While purporting support for the hottest-every-year narrative, actual consideration of the data involved leads to a more conservative conclusion.