Last week, the world experienced the hottest day recorded in modern history. On July 22, temperatures exceeded those of the previous day, as reported by the European climate service Copernicus. Preliminary satellite data indicated that July 22 was 0.06 degrees Celsius (0.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer, marking a significant rise in global temperatures.
Specifically, the average global temperature on July 22 was 17.15 degrees Celsius (62.87 degrees Fahrenheit). This new record surpassed the previous high set just a year earlier, on July 3, 2023, when the average temperature reached 17 degrees Celsius, confirming that the average temperature of the planet had exceeded this threshold for the first time.
Climate scientists attribute this extreme rise in temperatures primarily to human-induced climate change. However, Dr. Michael Mann, a climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, notes that determining this link can be complicated due to limitations in data from tree rings, coral, and ice cores.
The Copernicus records date back to 1940, while other measurements from the United States and the United Kingdom began in 1880. Scientists believe that when considering tree ring and ice core data, last year’s extreme temperatures were the highest in around 120,000 years. Alarmingly, the first six months of 2024 have already exceeded those figures.
The temperature increase observed over the past few decades aligns with scientific projections about the consequences of ongoing fossil fuel consumption. “We are in an era where weather and climate records regularly exceed our tolerance levels, leading to enormous loss of life and livelihoods,” explained Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate expert at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald emphasized the catastrophic implications of failing to aggressively reduce COâ‚‚ emissions, the primary greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. While the natural greenhouse effect is crucial for sustaining life by retaining heat, the increasing emissions have thickened the atmosphere, preventing heat from dissipating properly and resulting in the global warming we are currently experiencing.
At the COP 15 in Paris, the 198 nations that make up the United Nations agreed on a target to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial era. However, according to climate experts, this goal seems increasingly out of reach as countries fail to set more ambitious targets, despite witnessing record temperatures across the globe.
Experts concur that without human-induced climate change, records for extreme temperatures would not be broken as frequently as they have been in recent years. Christiana Figueres, former head of UN climate negotiations, warned that without immediate changes, the world could face devastating heat conditions.
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist from UCLA, noted the unusual occurrence of back-to-back years experiencing such high temperatures, particularly after the natural warming of El Niño ended earlier this year. He remarked that this phenomenon underscores the significant warming that has taken place.
The recently recorded temperature of July 22 has already been surpassed 57 times since the start of 2023, demonstrating a worrying trend where nearly every day can be labeled as “the hottest day in history.”
Carlo Bountempo, director of Copernicus, expressed concern over the notable difference between the temperatures of the last 13 months and earlier records. He indicated that as the climate continues to warm, new records are likely to occur in the coming months and years.
According to the Copernicus report, the maximum global temperatures observed in 2023 and 2024 are substantially higher than those recorded in previous years. The leap from the 2016 record to those of 2023/2024 is approximately 0.3 degrees Celsius, highlighting the severity of the current heat.
The report also indicated that it is not unusual for the hottest days of 2023 and 2024 to occur in July, as the average global temperature tends to peak annually between late June and early August, coinciding with the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. This pattern is influenced by seasonal characteristics of the region.
As global leaders grapple with these alarming figures, the need for immediate action to mitigate climate change becomes increasingly imperative to avoid catastrophic consequences. For further insight on climate change and its impacts, you can explore resources like NASA’s climate change news and reports from the World Meteorological Organization.
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