According to data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Monday, July 3, marked a historic milestone as the hottest day ever recorded on a global scale. The average global temperature soared to 17.01 degrees Celsius (62.62 Fahrenheit), surpassing the previous record of 16.92 degrees Celsius (62.46 Fahrenheit) set in August 2016. Heatwaves gripped various regions around the world, intensifying the scorching conditions.
The southern United States experienced the oppressive heat dome for weeks, while China endured an ongoing heatwave with temperatures surpassing 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit). North Africa witnessed temperatures near 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).
Even Antarctica, in the midst of its winter season, observed unusually high temperatures. Ukraine’s Vernadsky Research Base on the Argentine Islands in Antarctica recently shattered its July temperature record, reaching 8.7 degrees Celsius (47.6 Fahrenheit).
However, climate scientists expressed deep concern rather than celebration regarding this significant milestone. Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Britain’s Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, stated, “This is not a milestone we should be celebrating. It’s a death sentence for people and ecosystems.”
Experts attributed the record-breaking heat to the combined effects of climate change and the emergence of an El Niño pattern. Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth, warned that this would likely be the first of many new records set this year due to rising carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, coupled with the intensifying El Niño event.
