A tweet published on January 15, 2023, indicates that “2022 is recorded in history as the hottest year.”.
The statement is also the headline attached to the article whose link is shared on the tweet. The article is shared on a news website titled THECEKODOK.
Background
The year 2022 saw several parts of the world experiencing some of the highest temperatures ever. The Horn of Africa for instance experienced a deadly drought that left more than 20 million people at risk of starvation according to the United Nations (UN). According to the Red Cross, this is the worst drought the region has faced in 40 years.
It is also in 2022 when 28 countries recorded their warmest weather and enormous rivers in Europe, the U.S and China temporarily dried up according to a Bloomberg report.
Over and above that, 2023 is forecast to be hotter than 2022.
Verification
Upon reading the article linked to the tweet alleging that 2022 was the hottest year, there is no reference to the false headline. Instead, the article republishes information from NASA, as originally posted on the NASA website, declaring 2022 the fifth warmest year on record.
NASA’s ranking ties up global temperatures in 2022 with the temperatures in 2015, slightly contradicting the U.S’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which ranks 2022 as the sixth warmest year on record. The article published by THECEKODOK highlights this discrepancy.
So far, according to US’ NOAA, the hottest year on record is 2016.
However, 2022 is the year when oceans were the hottest. This is recorded as by the NOAA as the Global ocean heat content (OHC) which “was record high in 2022, surpassing the previous record set in 2021.” This phenomenon has also been reported by The Guardian here.
Verdict
Claims that 2022 is the hottest year on record are FALSE.
This fact-check was produced by Africa Uncensored with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck, International Fact-Checking Network, and African Fact-Checking Alliance network.
Add comment