
This past Monday was the hottest day ever recorded on a global scale, according to climate scientists. Data from the US government’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction showed that the average temperature worldwide was 17.01°C, surpassing the previous record of 16.92°C set in August 2016. This temperature was 0.8°C higher than the average during the late 20th century, a time when global temperatures had already been increased by human activities.
Climate change, caused by burning fossil fuels and other human activities, combined with the emerging El Niño weather pattern, was the cause of this record-breaking temperature. Dr. Robert Rohde of Berkeley Earth, a US non-profit climate research organisation, anticipates that the record may be surpassed again in the coming weeks. The IPCC reports (A2.2) have stated that global temperatures have not been as high as they are now for 125,000 years.
The heat wave that hit Texas and other parts of the southern US on July 3 was made at least five times more likely due to climate change, according to a rapid assessment by Climate Central. In North Africa the temperatures reached 50°C due to the heat wave, with climate change playing a major role. Ocean temperatures around the British Isles and Nordic countries were still high, although lower than during the extreme marine heatwave that threatened marine life previously. The Antarctic region also experienced unusually high temperatures, with the Vernadsky station breaking its July temperature record of