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- Written by: NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
November 2023 was the warmest November in NOAA’s 174-year global climate record.
Last month also continued the year’s record-warm streak, according to scientists and data from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.
Below are more highlights from NOAA’s November global climate report:
Climate by the numbers
November 2023
The average global land and ocean surface temperature for November 2023 was 2.59 degrees F (1.44 degrees C) above the 20th-century average of 55.2 degrees F (12.9 degrees C), which makes it the warmest November on record for NOAA.
November also marked the sixth month in a row of record-warm months for 2023. For the eighth consecutive month, the global ocean-surface temperature also set a record high.
November 2023 marked the 47th-consecutive November and the 537th-consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th-century average.
Africa, Asia and South America all had their warmest Novembers on record. North America had its second-warmest November while Oceania had its fifth-warmest November.
Season (September through November 2023)
The season (meteorological spring or autumn, depending on the hemisphere) saw a global surface temperature that was 2.54 degrees F (1.41 degrees C) above the 20th-century average. This ranks as the warmest September–November period on record, and 0.70 of a degree F (0.39 of a degree C) above the previous season record from 2015.
The year to date (YTD, January through November 2023)
The year to date (YTD, January through November 2023) global land and ocean surface temperature was 2.07 degrees F (1.15 degrees C) above the 20th-century average, ranking as the warmest such YTD on record. This also makes the YTD considerably warmer — 0.20 of a degree F, or 0.11 of a degree C — than the previous record-warm such YTD in 2016.
According to NCEI’s Global Annual Temperature Rankings Outlook, there is a greater than 99% chance that 2023 will rank as Earth’s warmest year on record.
Other notable climate events from November:
Global sea ice extent ranked second lowest on record for November: Arctic sea ice extent (coverage) for November 2023 tied 2006 as the eighth smallest in the satellite record, at 3.73 million square miles. This was 190,000 square miles below the 1991–2020 average. Meanwhile, the Antarctic saw its second-smallest November sea ice coverage on record at 5.51 million square miles, or 620,000 square miles below the 1991–2020 average.
The tropics were relatively quiet: Four named storms occurred across the globe in November, which tied for the second fewest in November since 1981. One of those reached tropical cyclone strength (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher), and none reached major tropical cyclone strength (sustained winds of 111 mph or higher). No storms were active in the Atlantic, which happens about once every three Novembers. The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ended on November 30, had an above-average number of named storms (20) but near-average numbers of hurricanes (seven) and major hurricanes (three).
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- Written by: Jon-Patrick Allem, Rutgers University
Californians – including minors – are still able to buy flavored electronic cigarettes online, even after the state’s much-publicized ban went into effect. That’s the key finding of my team’s new study, published in JAMA Network Open.
On Dec. 21, 2022, California enacted Senate Bill 793, which prohibited the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to people of all ages. Hookahs, premium cigars and loose-leaf tobacco were exempted from the legislation.
The ban was motivated, in large part, by a desire to reduce to reduce consumption of tobacco among young people – who are particularly attracted to the flavors in e-cigarettes, such as mango and creme.
Since 2021, we have been collecting data on the tobacco industry. As part of this project, we also worked to determine whether minors could illegally purchase flavored e-cigarettes online.
Before and after the passage of SB 793, our researchers – all posing online as minors under the age of 21 – attempted to buy flavored e-cigarette products from 26 websites that sold them in California.
A “purchase attempt” occurred when a researcher was able to add a flavored e-cigarette product to their cart, make it through the age verification system – if any – and provide their credit card information.
Before SB 793, our purchase attempt success rate was 52%. After SB 793, our success rate actually rose – to almost 61%.
Why it matters
E-cigarette use among adolescents is a public health concern, particularly since these products have a special appeal to young people.
The nicotine in e-cigarettes can impair an adolescent’s brain development. In addition, the aerosols that those who vape breathe in can contain cancer-causing chemicals and heavy metals such as nickel, tin and lead.
In addition, flavored tobacco products are known to make it difficult to quit nicotine.
Research shows that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2009 ban on flavored cigarettes reduced adolescent tobacco use. That’s why California has spearheaded progressive tobacco control policies – not only with SB 793, but through local sales restrictions in dozens of California cities. But if online vendors either flout or are unaware of these laws, young people may still have access to flavored tobacco products.
What still isn’t known
It remains unclear as to why flavored e-cigarettes are still available from online retailers in California. It may be that vendors are flouting the new law, are ignorant of it, or do not believe the new law applies to online sales.
A comprehensive evaluation of SB 793 compliance among brands and vendors that sell their products online in California would help determine the extent to which flavored e-cigarettes are still available. This research would provide data on retailer awareness of the new legislation and would show whether they understand the potential consequences for being in violation of the new law.
Our research had several limitations. For one, our protocol for the study was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the health and safety of our team in mind, we avoided in-person interactions. This means that we did not receive the package of flavored e-cigarettes from a delivery person.
Since we stopped our attempted online purchases with placing items in an electronic shopping cart, this precluded our ability to examine whether age would have been verified at delivery and to calculate the actual purchase rate. However, only four websites in our study stated that age verification would actually occur at delivery.
Even with these caveats, these findings warrant urgent attention from state agencies to enforce the ban on flavored e-cigarette products in California.
What other research is being done
Another research team collected weekly Google search rates related to online shopping for cigarettes and vaping products in California from January 2018 to May 2023. They found that shopping queries were 194% higher than expected for cigarettes and 162% higher than expected for e-cigarettes – which suggests consumers are searching on Google for vendors promoting banned products.
Jon-Patrick Allem, Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Rutgers University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. — Lakeport’s newest park has been bedecked with holiday cheer for its first Christmas thanks to a new community Christmas tree.
The tree, installed on Dec. 13, is a holiday highlight of the newly opened Xabatin Community Park.
It sits at the edge of the park overlooking Clear Lake.
Since its arrival, the tree has been a hit with community members. Many great photos of the picturesque tree covered with colorful lights, with Mount Konocti and Clear Lake as a backdrop, have been posted on social media in recent weeks by city staff and park visitors.
The tree project’s completion has been credited to the efforts of Stacey Mattina, who just finished up her 2023 term as mayor for the city of Lakeport, and District 4 Supervisor Michael Green.
Mattina took the idea for the tree to Green, who pitched in $25,000 — the lion’s share of the cost — from the discretionary funds he and other board members receive from county cannabis revenue.
On Dec. 19, Mattina attended the Board of Supervisors to thank the county for its help with the project and making the city's holiday dreams come true.
She said the city had a wild idea to bring more cheer to downtown with the tree.
“Thanks to your generosity and support, it’s now a reality,” Mattina said.
The city of Lakeport purchased the 16-foot “Giant Everest” model artificial tree from the Wintergreen Corp., a company based in Alpharetta, Georgia.
“This isn’t just any tree. It’s a symbol of unity and community spirit,” said Mattina.
In addition to the tree being reusable year after year, next year it will be 10 feet taller, Mattina said.
Wintergreen offers commercial grade trees ranging up to 76 feet tall.
Green showed up to the Lakeport City Council meeting later on Dec. 19 to offer praise to Mattina. He said he believed the community owed her thanks for having the vision to add a holiday-oriented feature to the park, which benefits not just the city of Lakeport but all of District 4.
Whatever he contributed is a pittance, he said. “It’s just a little gesture.”
Green said the tree, and the park, look great. He said his hat was off to the city for coming up with a vision to unify the community after what it’s been through over the last few years.
Mattina thanked him, and said the city couldn’t have done it without his help.
Mattina’s council colleagues and City Manager Kevin Ingram said Mattina had a hand in helping Public Works staff assemble the tree, including helping with screwing in the huge number of light bulbs.
In addition to extending the height of the tree, the city reported that it is planning to expand its holiday decorations along the lakefront in 2024.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Christmas day is anticipated to have increasing clouds with temperatures in the mid to high 50s.
The Christmas night forecast calls for a 20% chance of rain, with temperatures dropping into the low 40s.
Tuesday’s conditions are forecast to have patchy dog during the day and an expectation of showers that night,
From Wednesday through Sunday, the forecast calls for chances of rain. An inch to an inch and a half of rain is expected to fall on Wednesday alone.
Temperatures this week are forecast to range in the low 50s during the day and low 40s at night.
Email Elizabeth Larson at