July 21 was world's hottest day in 84 years: Report
The Earth experienced its hottest day in at least 84 years on July 21 (Sunday), with the global average temperature reaching a record high of 17.09 degrees Celsius, as reported by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). This follows a series of record-breaking temperatures since June last year, marking the 12th consecutive month of global temperatures reaching or exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold.
Unprecedented temperature rise since 2023
Preliminary data from C3S indicated that this was the hottest day since at least 1940, surpassing the previous record of 17.08 degrees Celsius set on July 6, 2023. The significant difference between the temperatures since July 2023 and all previous years is noteworthy. Before July 2023, the Earth's daily average temperature record, set in August 2016, was 16.8 degrees Celsius. However, since July 3, 2023, there have been 57 days with temperatures exceeding that previous record.
Analysis reveals rising annual maximum temperatures
Carlo Buontempo, director of C3S, stated "We are now in truly uncharted territory and as the climate continues to warm, we are bound to see new records in the coming months and years." Analysis shows that both years of 2023 and 2024 have seen significantly higher annual maximum daily global temperatures compared to previous years. The 10 years with the highest daily average temperatures range from 2015 to 2024.
Antarctic anomalies contribute to global temperature rise
The global average temperature usually peaks between late June and early August due to the northern hemisphere's summer causing land masses to warm up faster than southern hemisphere's oceans can cool down. With global average temperatures already at near-record levels, a new daily average temperature record was not completely unexpected. C3S scientists attributed the sudden rise in daily global temperatures to much higher-than-average temperatures over large parts of Antarctica.
La Nina to dictate heat record this year
Such large anomalies are not uncommon during the Antarctic winter and also contributed to record global temperatures in early July 2023. The Antarctic Sea ice extent is almost as low as it was last year, leading to above-average temperatures over parts of the Southern Ocean. The European climate agency stated that whether 2024 will be the warmest year ever largely depends on the development and intensity of La Nina.
2024 predicted to set new annual heat record
While 2024 has been warm enough to surpass 2023, the exceptional warmth of the last four months of 2023 makes it too early to predict with certainty which year will be warmer. Climate science non-profit Berkeley Earth estimated last week that 2024 has a 92% chance of setting a new annual heat record. They also reported a 99% chance that 2024 will have an annual average temperature anomaly of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 average.
Global warming exceeds UN climate talks limit
At the 2015 United Nations climate talks in Paris, world leaders committed to limiting the global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period average to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The Earth's global surface temperature has already increased by around 1.2 degrees Celsius due to rapidly-increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide and methane, in the atmosphere.
