July is confirmed as the hottest month EVER recorded on Earth as scientists warn of 'dire...
It's official July 2023 was the hottest month ever, scientists have confirmed. Last month smashed a heat record set four years ago, the experts from the EU's Copernicus programme said. The global average temperature for the month was 62.51F (16.95C), the highest since records began in 1940 and well above the previous record of 61.93F (16.63C) set in July 2019. Worryingly, 62.51F is 1.29F (0.72C) warmer than the 1991-2020 global average for July and the experts point to greenhouse gas emissions as the cause. The data follows and extreme weather events such as heatwaves in Europe, North America and Asia and wildfires in Canada and Greece. The Copernicus figure refers to the global average temperature for the month so lower than a single typically 'hot' temperature reading but as an average it is unusually high. The EU service's temperature readings are based on a variety of platforms and instruments, from weather stations to weather balloons and satellites. 'We just witnessed global air temperatures and global ocean surface temperatures set new all-time records in July,' said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). 'These records have dire consequences for both people and the planet exposed to ever more frequent and intense extreme events.' The cause of the new record temperature is 'anthropogenic' (human-made) greenhouse gas emissions, which trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere. 'Record-breaking temperatures are part of the trend of drastic increases in global temperatures,' said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus climate change service. 'Anthropogenic emissions are ultimately the main driver of these rising temperatures'. Last month started with the daily global mean surface air temperature record being broken four days in a row, from July 3-6. July 6 was the hottest single day of the month, with the global average temperature reaching 62.74F (17.08C), although the values recorded on July 5 and 7 were within 0.01C of this. During the first and third weeks of the month, temperatures also temporarily exceeded the 2.7F (1.5C) threshold above pre-industrial level a limit set by the Paris Agreement. Higher air temperatures are a huge concern for scientists as they can melt glaciers, leading to sea level rises and lethal floods, but can also worsen wildfires, disrupt ecosystems and threaten crop growth. But Copernicus data shows it's not just air surface temperatures that have set records in July. It has already revealed that the global average temperatures for the world's oceans . Average sea temperatures, which have been climbing steadily since the 1970s, hit 69.72F (20.96C), beating a record of 69.71F (20.95C) set in March 2016. The warmer oceans become, the less adept they are at absorbing CO2, which leads to more of the gas in the atmosphere instead. Air surface temperatures are usually the main metric looked at when considering temperature rises, but ocean temperatures are key indicators too. Brits may find the new heat records hard to believe as the country has been battered by cold air and downpours in the last month, despite heatwaves around mainland Europe. July 2023 has been , Met Office figures recently revealed, despite June being a hot one. It contrasts with July last year, which saw the UK's first red extreme heat warning to be issued in the country, indicating 'a risk to life'. In 2022, UK temperatures broke the 104F (40C) mark for the first time, . Experts have told MailOnline that the UK's drab summer for 2023 has been due to brought with it cooler temperatures. What's more, the rain and chilly weather is likely here to stay for most of August, dashing hopes of a warm end to the summer holidays. However, Brits who don't like the heat can consider this good fortune, as another summer of sweltering temperatures could be on the cards next year and beyond. Summers that hit 104F (40C) could become the norm by 2070, the Met Office has said, while a recent study suggested to cope with future heat.