July 2024: Second hottest month globally; records two warmest days
July 2024 has been recorded as the second hottest month globally, according to a report by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The month broke a 13-month streak of each month being the warmest, a trend partially fueled by the El Nino weather pattern. The report revealed that July's temperatures were 1.48 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial reference period of 1850-1990.
July witnesses two hottest days ever recorded
The last 12 months have seen temperatures rise to 1.64 C above the pre-industrial average, a change attributed to climate change. Furthermore, July 2024 also witnessed the two hottest days ever recorded. The Copernicus Climate Change Service largely attributes these high temperatures to greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-based industries.
High ocean temperatures
Unusually high ocean temperatures were also observed in areas not typically impacted by El Nino. "This El Nino has ended but this magnitude of global temperature rises, the big picture is quite similar to where we were a year ago," said Julien Nicolas, a climate researcher with Copernicus. Nicolas further warned that we are far from done with temperature records causing heatwaves and stated with high confidence that this long-term warming trend is related to human impact on climate.
Above-average temperatures recorded
Above-average temperatures were recorded in various parts of the world including southern and eastern Europe, western United States and Canada, most of Africa, Middle East, Asia and eastern Antarctica. Conversely, near or below-average temperatures were observed in northwestern Europe, western Antarctica, parts of the United States, South America and Australia. In terms of precipitation, northern Europe and southeastern Turkey experienced wetter than average conditions while drought warnings persisted in southern and eastern Europe.
Arctic sea ice down more than in 2022, 2023
Arctic sea ice was reported to be down more than in 2022 and 2023 at 7% below average, although not as severe as the record 14% drop in 2020. Antarctic sea ice extent for July was the second lowest, at 11% below average compared to 15% below in July last year. Additionally, global sea temperatures remained near record highs with July 2024 only 0.1 C below July last year, ending a 15-month consecutive new record streak.
