In a remarkable revelation, the European climate monitoring organization has officially declared July 2023 as the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. With a global average temperature of 16.95 degrees Celsius (62.51 degrees Fahrenheit), July surpassed the previous record set in 2019 by a significant margin of a third of a degree Celsius (six tenths of a degree Fahrenheit). Typically, temperature records are broken by only hundredths or tenths of a degree, making this deviation quite extraordinary.
The dire consequences of these record-breaking temperatures are evident, affecting both human populations and the planet itself with increasingly frequent and intense extreme events. Deadly heatwaves have swept across the Southwestern United States, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. Scientists have quickly attributed these extreme temperatures to human-caused climate change resulting from the burning of fossil fuels.
Interestingly, the extraordinary heatwave extended throughout the entirety of July, prompting Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization to make an early announcement about the likelihood of it being the hottest month before it even ended. Tuesday’s calculations officially confirmed this prediction.
Compared to pre-industrial times, July 2023 was a staggering 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer. In 2015, nations worldwide pledged to prevent long-term warming exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. Therefore, these recent temperatures are cause for concern.
Last month’s heatwave exceeded the average July temperatures from 1991 to 2020 by 0.7 degrees Celsius (1.3 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Copernicus. Additionally, the world’s oceans experienced a temperature rise of 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to the previous 30 years, while the North Atlantic saw an increase of 1.05 degrees Celsius (1.9 degrees Fahrenheit) above average. Antarctica, on the other hand, witnessed record lows in sea ice, measuring 15% below the expected average for this time of year.
It is worth noting that Copernicus’ temperature records date back to 1940. The recorded temperatures exceed those of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has records dating back to 1850. However, climate scientists argue that the recent temperatures are not only the hottest in recent history but also in the past 10,000 years, as evidenced by studies using tree rings and other proxies to analyze historical climate patterns. Considering that the Holocene Epoch began approximately 10,000 years ago after an ice age, one could even argue that these temperatures represent the warmest in the past 120,000 years.
This unprecedented record serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to address climate change. As Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto states, July’s heatwave should not merely be seen as a record but as an indicator of the drastic changes we have made to the climate. We are existing in a world that our societies are ill-equipped to handle.
For more climate and environmental news, follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment. To stay updated with the latest developments, follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears. It is important to note that the Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from various private foundations. To learn more about AP’s climate initiative, visit their website. The AP holds full responsibility for the content provided.
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