On July 22, the world recorded its hottest day, breaking the previous high just 24 hours earlier, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. The newest record for the global surface temperature is 17.15 degrees Celsius, 0.06 degrees higher than the prior day’s 17.09 degrees Celsius.
The global surface temperature is the average temperature of the Earth’s surface, determined by measuring the temperatures over ocean and land. Copernicus has tracked this data since 1940. This year’s concerning records come just a year since its last one in July 2023, when the record broke consecutively from July 3 to 6.
According to Copernicus, Antarctica experienced higher-than-normal winter temperatures, which helped push the global average to these record highs. These trends are unusual in that they occurred despite El Niño’s end. El Niño is a climate pattern characterized by warmer ocean temperatures in the Eastern Pacific, which, in turn, raises global temperatures.
Last year, carbon dioxide emissions around the world hit a record high. According to climate scientists, if the world does not achieve net zero, it will continue to see such trends. This global warming will lead to more extreme weather events like wildfires, floods, typhoons, and droughts..