It’s official! Monday was the hottest day ever recorded in the history of the world. And it broke a one-day-old record set on Sunday. This is according to a report from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
And we can probably expect more record breaking heat in the future. The month of June 2024 was the hottest June in recorded history and we have yet to enter the month of August, the hottest month of the year.
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The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said that while the temperature on 21 July 2024 (17.09ºC) was almost indistinguishable from the previous record of 17.08ºC reached on 6 July 2023, the difference between these and the new record temperature (17.15°C) reached on 22 July is larger than typical differences in day-to-day variations among alternative datasets.
“On July 21st, C3S recorded a new record for the daily global mean temperature,” said C3S Director Carlo Buontempo. “What is truly staggering is how large the difference is between the temperature of the last 13 months and the previous temperature records. We are now in truly uncharted territory and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records being broken in future months and years.”
Following the new record on 22 July 2024, Carlo Buontempo added, “We now have a new record, and its value is sufficiently large to indicate with some confidence that this has exceeded the record set only last year. The event is still ongoing and it is possible the date of the peak may still change, but our data suggest we may see slightly lower temperatures in the next few days.”
Analysis of annual maximum daily global temperatures by the C3S reveals a dramatic warming trend. Both 2023 and 2024 recorded unprecedented highs, significantly surpassing previous records. In fact, the ten warmest years on record have all occurred within the last decade, from 2015 to 2024.
The stark acceleration of warming is evident when comparing temperature increases. While the difference between the previously record-breaking year of 2016 and 2015 was a modest 0.2°C, the jump to 2023 was a substantial 0.28°C. The new record set in 2024, surpassing even 2023, marks a further increase of 0.35°C, underscoring the extraordinary nature of recent warming.
So, what is causing this?
Climate change, of course.
“Our analysis suggests that the sudden rise in daily global average temperature is related to much above-average temperatures over large parts of Antarctica,” said the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Such large anomalies are not unusual during the Antarctic winter months, and also contributed to the record global temperatures in early July 2023.”
“What’s more, Antarctic sea ice extent is almost as low as it was at this time last year, leading to much above-average temperatures over parts of the Southern Ocean,” it added.
We can expect more hot weather and new record highs in the future. So stock up on sunscreen, make sure your air conditioner works before the summer season hits and maybe think about moving to Alaska, before it melts.
