JULY 28 : July 2023 is poised to become the hottest month ever recorded, surpassing the previous record-holder, July 2019, by a substantial margin, according to a recent analysis by the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The global mean surface air temperature for the first 23 days of July 2023 averaged at 16.95 degrees Celsius, significantly higher than the 16.63 degrees recorded for the entire month of July 2019.
The scorching temperatures in July have been linked to heatwaves affecting vast areas of North America, Asia, and Europe. These extreme heat events, coupled with devastating wildfires in countries like Canada and Greece, have had severe impacts on public health, the environment, and economies.
WMO’s Secretary-General, Petteri Taalas, emphasized that the extreme weather experienced in July serves as a stark reminder of the realities of climate change and offers a glimpse into the future. Urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is imperative, as climate change is now an unavoidable challenge.
The dataset further reveals that on July 6, 2023, the daily average global mean surface air temperature reached a record-breaking 17.08 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous record set in August 2016. The trend of rising global temperatures is becoming increasingly apparent, with anthropogenic emissions identified as the primary driver of these alarming increases.
The WMO predicts with a high likelihood that one of the next five years will be the warmest on record, and there’s a substantial chance of temporarily exceeding the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold above preindustrial levels during one of these years.
As the July heatwave continues, C3S’ seasonal forecasts indicate that land temperatures are likely to remain well above average, surpassing the 80th percentile of climatology for this time of year. The persistently high global average sea surface temperature since May has been a contributing factor to the exceptionally warm July.
Efforts to monitor the climate involve the consolidation of data from C3S and five other international datasets, which enable the preparation of comprehensive climate monitoring reports like the State of the Climate.
With July 2023 on track to become the hottest month ever recorded, the urgency to address climate change has never been greater.
