July 2023 Was The Hottest Month Ever Recorded, Remainder Of Year Expected To Be Relatively Warm, Says Copernicus: Report
July 2023 was 0.33 degrees Celsius higher than the average temperature of July 2019, which held the previous record for the hottest month ever. This temperature rise was driven by fossil fuel burning.
July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, and was 0.72 degrees Celsius warmer than the 1991-2020 average for July. The previous record for the hottest month ever was held by July 2019. July 2023 was 0.33 degrees Celsius higher than the average temperature of July 2019, the European Union's climate observatory Copernicus has said, news agency AFP reported. Since the late 1800s, about 1.2 degrees Celsius of global warming has been driven by fossil fuel burning. Due to these anthropogenic activities, heatwaves have become hotter, longer and more frequent, and extreme weather events such as storms and floods have increased.
The Northern Hemisphere experienced the most pronounced impact of heatwaves in July. Southern American countries and a significant portion of Antarctica also witnessed well-above average temperatures.
According to Copernicus, the global mean temperature for this year is the third highest on record, and is 0.43 degrees Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 average. In 2020, the global mean temperature was 0.48 degrees Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 average, while that in 2016 was 0.49 degrees Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 average.
Since the months following July in 2016 were relatively cool, the gap between 2023 and 2016 is expected to reduce in the coming months.
Since the El Niño phenomenon is developing, the remainder of 2023 is expected to be relatively warm.
Before the month of July was over, scientists predicted that July this year would be the hottest month ever. An analysis by German scientist Dr Karsten Haustein from Leipzig University had said that July 2023 was likely to set a global temperature record as the hottest July ever, and the hottest month in 1,20,000 years. The analysis proved to be correct, for Copernicus has confirmed July 2023 as yhd hottest month ever.
According to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C35), the first three weeks of July constitute the warmest three-week period on record, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) had said.
July 6 was the hottest day on record, followed by July 5 and 7. The record for the hottest day was previously set in August 2016.
The analysis performed by Dr Haustein, and the WMO data also showed that July 2023 was about 1.5 degrees Celsius ± 0.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Now, Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of C35, has also said that the average global temperature in July was 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, proving that the scientists' predictions were true. According to an AFP report, Burgess also said that even if the temperature rise is only temporary, it shows the urgency for ambitious efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main driver behind these records.
Last week, the world's oceans reached the highest ever sea surface temperature due to climate change. Emissions released due to the burning of fossil fuels contributed to the heating of oceans. The global average daily sea temperature reached 20.96 degrees Celsius last week. Before that, the highest global average daily sea surface temperature was 20.95 degrees Celsius, and was achieved in 2016.
United Nations General-Secretary Antonio Guterres said that climate change is here, and that it is terrifying. He stated that the era of global warming has ended, and that the era of global boiling has arrived.
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