The global average surface temperature on Sunday was 17.09 degrees Celsius, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
July 21 was the hottest day ever recorded globally, according to preliminary data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
The global average surface temperature reached 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday, the warmest since records began in 1940, the European Union’s climate watchdog said in a statement on Tuesday.
The new record temperature is slightly higher than the previous record of 17.08°C (62.74°F) recorded in July last year.
“What is truly surprising is how big the difference is between the temperatures of the past 13 months and previous temperature records. We are now in truly uncharted territory and new records will undoubtedly be broken in the coming months and years as the climate continues to warm,” EU climate monitor Carlo Buontempo said in a statement.
Heat waves have been hitting large swaths of the United States, Europe and Russia in recent weeks, including in Gaza, making life even tougher for Palestinians displaced by the war in Israeli-occupied territory.
Each month from June 2023 onwards will rank as the hottest month on Earth since records began, compared to the same month the previous year.
Scientists say the scorching temperatures are due to human-induced global warming.
Some scientists have suggested that 2024 could surpass 2023 as the hottest year since records began, because climate change and the El Niño weather phenomenon that ended in April caused temperatures to rise faster than ever this year.