Monday Recorded as the Hottest Day Ever Globally, Following Sunday’s Record
22 July 2024 – Monday marked the hottest day ever recorded globally, surpassing a record set just the day before, according to the European climate change service. This record-breaking heat wave has been felt worldwide, from Japan to Bolivia to the United States.
Provisional satellite data published by Copernicus on Wednesday revealed that Monday’s temperature exceeded Sunday’s record by 0.06 degrees Celsius (0.1 degree Fahrenheit). Climate scientists attribute this extreme heat to human-caused climate change, noting that the world is now as warm as it was 125,000 years ago. While it is uncertain if Monday was the absolute hottest day in that period, average temperatures haven’t been this high since before the advent of agriculture.
The recent temperature rise aligns with climate scientists’ predictions based on the continued burning of fossil fuels. Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, commented, “We are in an age where weather and climate records are frequently stretched beyond our tolerance levels, resulting in insurmountable loss of lives and livelihoods.”
Copernicus’ preliminary data indicates that the global average temperature on Monday was 17.15 degrees Celsius (62.87 degrees Fahrenheit). The previous record, set just a year ago, saw temperatures reaching 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 degrees Fahrenheit). This week’s extreme heat has been partly attributed to an unusually warm Antarctic winter, similar to conditions last year when the record was also set in early July.
Copernicus records date back to 1940, but data from U.S. and U.K. government sources extend to 1880. Many scientists, using additional evidence from tree rings and ice cores, believe that last year’s record highs were the hottest the planet has experienced in about 120,000 years. The first six months of 2024 have now surpassed those records.
Scientists assert that without human-caused climate change, such extreme temperature records would not be broken as frequently as they have in recent years. Christiana Figueres, former head of U.N. climate negotiations, warned, “We all scorch and fry” if immediate changes are not made. She emphasized that “one-third of global electricity can be produced by solar and wind alone, but targeted national policies must enable that transformation.”
AP science writer Seth Borenstein contributed to this report.
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