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 Sunday reached 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit) – slightly higher than the previous record set last July, which was 17.08 degrees.
Heatwaves have scorched large swathes of the United States, Europe and Russia over the past week.
Copernicus confirmed the record daily temperature average set last year appeared to have been broken on Sunday, in their records which extend back to 1940.
Last year saw four days in a row break the record, from July 3 through July 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 this year.
Global average temperatures have already hit or exceeded a key climate threshold for 12 months, highlighting the challenge in limiting global warming to below 1.5 degrees above the pre-industrial era. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, bringing extreme weather events from flooding to wildfires.
Global warming is bringing hotter conditions to southern Europe, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees for the past two weeks in Greece. That’s turbocharging the threat from wildfires.
In Greece, there were 33 wildfires in 24 hours through 6:30pm on Monday. Athens and southern parts of the country remain on high alert. Cooler weather will be bringing some relief this week, although temperatures are still expected to top 39 degrees in some parts of the mainland on Tuesday.
Spain is also under extreme fire risk this week as temperatures soar in the south of the country. Seville and Cordoba will approach 43 degrees on Wednesday, according to Spanish forecaster AEMET. Parts of the south of France and Italy are also at risk from wildfires.
Further north, Berlin and Paris are set for heatwave conditions at the start of August. The mean temperature in the German capital is forecast to rise as high as 28 degrees on August 6, 8 degrees above the 30-year norm.
Extreme heat has wreaked havoc across many parts of the global economy already this year, disrupting air travel to power grids.
The average temperature for the year through June 2024 was 1.64 degrees higher than the era from 1850 to 1900, according to Copernicus. Last month was the hottest ever June, the 13th consecutive time a month has set a new average temperature record.
The Paris Agreement set in 2015 seeks to limit planetary warming to below 2 degrees above the pre-industrial average, and ideally to 1.5 degrees.
