The temperature in July is expected to be so extreme that it will almost certainly break records by a significant margin.
In a report dated July 27, the Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Union (EU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) stated that the world has just experienced the three hottest weeks ever recorded.
The report highlighted that the average temperature during the first 23 days of July reached 16.95 degrees Celsius, significantly higher than the previous record of 16.63 degrees Celsius set in July 2019.
People cooling off by a fountain in Washington, D.C., USA, on July 11, 2023. (Photo: THX/TTXVN).
Comparing this data with climate records from millennia ago, based on tree rings, coral reefs, and deep-sea sediment cores, scientists indicate that this is the hottest average temperature the planet has endured in 120,000 years.
Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of Copernicus, stated: “This is the hottest temperature in human history.”
The El Niño phenomenon has contributed to a scorching summer in the Northern Hemisphere, potentially resulting in an unprecedented hot summer.
The impact of heat on human endurance is evident. As temperatures rise to 50 degrees Celsius across the United States, the number of heat-related deaths increases. Even those falling on the pavement risk life-threatening burns.
In the Mediterranean region, over 40 people have died as wildfires ravage the area due to rising temperatures.
In Asia, prolonged heatwaves are claiming lives and threatening food security.
Ms. Burgess noted that human-induced climate change is the primary driver of this abnormal heat. “Global air temperatures correlate with greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere,” she explained.
A recent study indicated that climate change plays a role that is “overwhelming” in the heatwaves occurring this summer in the United States, China, and Southern Europe.
Ms. Burgess added that the occurrence of the El Niño phenomenon, a natural climate variability accompanied by warming effects, is likely to push temperatures even higher.
The information that July is recorded as the hottest month in about 100,000 years comes amidst a series of alarming records continuously being broken this summer.
According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, last month was the hottest June ever recorded, with a “significant margin.”
In July, the world also experienced the hottest day ever recorded. On July 6, the global average temperature rose to 17.08 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous record of 16.8 degrees Celsius set in August 2016. Since July 3, every day has been hotter than the records of 2016.
“We have five months left in 2023, and almost every month this year has ranked among the top 5 hottest months recorded,” Ms. Burgess added. If this trend continues into the fall and winter, 2023 could be one of the hottest years ever recorded.
Ocean temperatures are also at record levels. In mid-May, global sea surface temperatures reached unprecedented levels for the year.
Kim Cobb, a climate scientist at Brown University (USA), described the new temperature record in July as astonishing, but warned that this level of heat will likely be broken again.
“It’s frightening to think that in a decade, this could be a relatively cool year. If people cannot adapt to what is happening this summer, they will be quite shocked by even higher temperatures in the future,” she shared.
Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of WMO, stated that the weather in July reflects the harsh reality of climate change. “The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is more urgent than ever. Climate action is not a luxury but a necessity,” Mr. Petteri urged.
