July misses world heat record by just a hair's breadth
Global average temperatures have been rising for over a year now, with record highs being reached for 13 consecutive months. This streak came to an end in July 2024, but only just, and at an extremely high level. However, there is still a record to report for July.
The global temperature in the past July reached the second highest level ever recorded. The month was 1.48 degrees Celsius above the estimated average for 1850 to 1900, the pre-industrial reference period, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Union. Only July of the previous year was warmer.
To calculate the temperature, billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft, and weather stations around the world are combined. The average global surface air temperature in July was 16.91 degrees - just 0.04 degrees less than the record temperature from the previous year.
13 consecutive months of record highs
From June 2023 to June 2024, Copernicus had announced a new record high each month. This 13-month streak of records has now come to an end - "but by a very narrow margin," emphasizes Samantha Burgess, Copernicus' deputy director.
"The overall picture hasn't changed, our climate continues to warm," she says. "The devastating impacts of climate change have been underway for many years before 2023 and will continue until global greenhouse gas emissions reach zero."
July still brings a record value
The natural weather phenomenon El Niño may have contributed to these temperature records. It occurs every few years, causing an increase in sea temperatures in parts of the Pacific and higher air temperatures. Copernicus reports that its counterpart, La Niña, is currently developing.
Despite the slight decrease overall, the warmest days ever recorded were seen in July: on July 22 and 23, the global average temperatures were 17.16 and 17.15 degrees respectively. Since this small difference is within the uncertainty factor of the data, it cannot be said with certainty which day was the hottest ever, Copernicus reports.
In Europe, the average temperature in July exceeded the average for the months of July from 1991 to 2020 by 1.49 degrees. This makes it the second warmest July on record in Europe. While it was rather average or even cooler than usual in northwest Europe, southern and eastern Europe experienced above-average temperatures.
Despite the recent end of a 13-month streak of record-breaking global temperatures, the El Niño phenomenon might have contributed to July 2024's temperatures, making it the second-hottest July on record globally, only slightly behind the previous year.
However, the natural weather event La Niña is currently developing, which could potentially influence future global temperature trends.
