2023-08-08 06:12:23
The global average temperature has smashed the record reached in July 2019, according to records from the European agency Copernicus.
A suffocating record. With 16.95°C, the average temperature recorded across the globe in July was the highest ever recorded, according to data from the European agency Copernicus published on Tuesday August 8. This new peak crushes previous records “all months combined”, specifies the service of the European Center for Meteorological Forecasts.
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The month of July 2023 was warmer by 0.72°C compared to the average for the months of July over the period 1991-2020. The average temperature recorded is also 0.33°C higher than the previous hottest month, July 2019. “The month is estimated to have been about 1.5°C warmer than the 1850-1900 average”details the Copernicus team.
Global average temperatures recorded in the air during the month of July, between 1940 and 2023. (C3S / ECMWF)
Heat waves affected several regions of the northern hemisphere, including southern Europe, during the month of July. Significantly above average temperatures were also recorded in several South American countries and around much of Antarctica.
Worrying general warming
The seas and oceans have not been spared, with records for global average surface water temperatures. For the month of July, “Global average sea surface temperatures were 0.51°C above the 1991-2020 average”, explains Copernicus. In the North Atlantic, the average was even 1.05°C higher than the values generally observed during this period.
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According to Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of Copernicus, “these records have serious consequences for people and the planet, exposed to increasingly frequent and intense extreme events”. “[L’année] 2023 is the third warmest year to date, with an increase of 0.43°C compared to the recent average, warns the scientist. Even if it is temporary, it shows the urgency [de mettre en place] ambitious efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main driver behind these records.”
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