World registers hottest day ever recorded on July 21, monitor says
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Heatwaves have scorched large swathes of the US, Europe and Russia over the past week.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON - Sunday, 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 air temperature on July 21 reached 17.09 deg C – slightly higher than the previous record set in July 2023 of 17.08 deg C.
Heatwaves have scorched large swathes of the United States, Europe and Russia over the past week.
Copernicus confirmed to Reuters that the record daily temperature average set in 2023 appeared to have been broken on July 21 in its records, which extend back to 1940.
The year 2023 saw four days in a row breaking the record, from July 3 to 6, as climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, drove extreme heat across the Northern Hemisphere.
Every month since June 2023 – 13 months in a row – has now ranked as the planet’s hottest since records began, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, Copernicus said.
Some scientists have suggested 2024 could outrank 2023 as the hottest year since records began, as climate change and the El Nino natural weather phenomenon – which ended in April – have pushed temperatures ever higher during the year. REUTERS
