On Sunday, July 21, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that it was the hottest day ever recorded, with the global average surface air temperature reaching 17.09 degrees Celsius, based on their preliminary data.
According to Copernicus Climate, this new record surpasses the previous highest daily average temperature set last year. The news was reported by Reuters, citing AFP. Additionally, Copernicus Climate confirmed that the daily temperature record set last year appears to have been broken on Sunday.
The temperature recorded on Sunday was slightly higher than the previous record of 17.08 degrees Celsius set last July, according to data from the European Union’s Copernicus Programme.
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Different regions of the United States, Europe, and Russia have experienced intense heatwaves over the past week. A study by Monash University, Australia, indicates that over 1.53 lakh deaths annually have been linked to heatwaves globally since 1990, with India accounting for the largest share.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service also confirmed that the record daily average temperature set last year appears to have been broken on Sunday, according to Reuters.
Last year, the days from July 3-6 recorded unprecedented high temperatures, driven by climate change exacerbated by the burning of fossil fuels, which led to extreme heat across the Northern Hemisphere, as reported by Reuters.
Data from Climate Copernicus reveals that the last 13 months, starting from June 2023, have been the hottest on record compared to the same period in previous years.
In 2023, the global average temperature was 14.98 degrees Celsius, beating the previous record of 14.81 degrees Celsius set in 2016. The data also shows that global sea surface temperatures remained unusually high, setting records from April 2023 through December.
Looking ahead, scientists warn that 2024 could surpass 2023 as the hottest year ever recorded, due to ongoing climate change and the El Niño phenomenon, which is driven by changes in winds and sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean.