On the 21st, the world experienced the hottest day since climate observations began, breaking that record just one day later. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the global average surface temperature on the 22nd registered at 17.15 degrees Celsius (62.87 degrees Fahrenheit), as reported by the New York Times (NYT) and the Washington Post. This marks the highest temperature recorded since C3S started climate observations in 1940.
C3S reported that the global average surface temperature surpassed the previous record of 17.08 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the 21st, hitting 17.09 degrees Celsius. This was then topped just a day later, making it the highest recorded temperature in history. Carlo Buontempo, the Director of C3S, mentioned the likelihood of breaking the record for a third consecutive day on Tuesday. He noted that record-breaking temperatures are usually not just a one-time occurrence but tend to happen consecutively due to the clustering nature of extreme heat on Earth.
Last year’s record-breaking temperatures, set on July 6th, were also a result of consecutive days of heat surpassing each other starting from the 3rd of the month. The Washington Post reported that climate scientists are observing that this recent heatwave is at its most severe level in the past 100,000 years since the last ice age began.
Buontempo stated that 2024 is being recorded as an extremely hot year, with the Antarctic exhibiting winter temperatures 6-10 degrees warmer than usual this week, ushering in the heat into ‘new realms’.
Experts believe that the frequent replacement of the global highest temperature record every few days or years is related to the climate crisis caused by humans.