Hottest Day in Earth’s History Recorded Amid Extreme Weather

The start of this week broke records globally – but not the records we want to be broken. Extreme weather has been battering locations across the northern hemisphere and beyond.

Hottest Temperatures in History

If you thought last summer was too hot, this year has probably left you disappointed. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, Monday observed the hottest temperatures in history, breaking the record set the day before. 

Double Whammy

That’s right, the two hottest days on record occurred one after the other. First, on Sunday, the average global temperatures hit 17.09 degrees Celsius – 62.76 Fahrenheit – which was slightly higher than the previous record of 17.08 C which occurred on July 6 last year.

Marginal Increases

Now, according to preliminary data from the EU monitoring agency, Monday beat out the previous day with a record high of 17.15 degrees Celsius, just 0.06 degrees, or 0.01 degrees Fahrenheit, higher than the day before.

Preliminary Satellite Data

Copernicus relies on satellite data to record the temperature of the air and oceans, and their observations aren’t guaranteed to be an exact match for the final results, though they will be close. 

Four Consecutive Days in 2023

Last year the month of July broke world temperature records for four consecutive days in a row. Prior to that, the world’s hottest day occurred in August 2016. The increase in heat has jumped notably in recent years.

Across the World

Staggering heatwaves have been recorded around the globe this summer, with excessive heat warnings issued in six states on Tuesday.

Europe, Asia, Latin America

Countries in southern and central Europe have also experienced similar heatwaves, and cities throughout Asia and Latin America have recorded similar record-high heat this week and last week.

Wildfires Too

Wildfires have also been recorded in the northwestern US and southern and central Europe in the last week. 

Tracking Temperatures Since 1940

The Copernicus Climate Change Service has been tracking global average surface air temperatures since 1940, but the understanding of historic weather patterns and temperature changes goes much further back. 

Hottest in 125,000 Years?

Climate scientists now believe that these record temperatures are the hottest the world has seen in 125,000 as a direct result of climate change. 

“Going Back Tens of Thousands of Years”

“This past Monday might have set a new global record for warmest absolute global average temperature ever — by that I mean going back tens of thousands of years,” said climate scientist Karsten Haustein of Leipzig University.

Since the Development of Agriculture

While the 125,000 has not been fully confirmed, scientists are now certain that average global temperatures have not risen this high since the advent of agriculture around 12,000 years ago.

What Paleoclimate Research Shows

They have based these conclusions on paleoclimate research which used tree rings, ice cores, and lake sediments to show that the extreme temperatures this summer would not have been possible on Earth 100,000 years ago.

What They Said Would Happen

“This is exactly what climate science told us would happen if the world continued burning coal, oil and gas,” said Imperial College London climate scientist Joyce Kimutai, in response to the announcement.

The Heat Will Continue

“It will continue getting hotter until we stop burning fossil fuels and reach net zero emissions,” she added.

Shocking Patterns

Daily average records aren’t the only temperature records that scientists and climate observation agencies have pointed out. Since June 2023, every consecutive month has been hotter than its corresponding month over the past few years. 

“We Are in Uncharted Territory”

“We are in truly uncharted territory,” Carlo Buontempo, the director of Copernicus, said in a statement on the matter. “And as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see records being broken in future months and years.”

National Centers for Environmental Information

The scope of these observations was supported by other agencies, including the National Centers for Environmental Information, which recorded record-high daily temperatures in 550 places around the world over the last seven days.

Temperatures Will Continue to Rise

Temperature increases are expected to continue as long as humans continue to burn fossil fuels at the same rates that they have over the past decades. 

Extreme Weather

Extreme weather events – from record-breaking temperatures and widespread wildfires to devastating floods – are expected to continue as long as global fossil fuel use continues at the same pace.

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Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Alan Budman.