Southern Europe and the US Grapple with Unprecedented Heat as Temperatures Soar
Sunday marked the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, according to data from the European climate tracking agency Copernicus. Preliminary reports show that on July 21, the global daily average temperature reached 17.09°C (63°F), slightly surpassing the previous record of 17.08°C set in July 2023. This marks another unsettling milestone in the ongoing trend of rising temperatures driven by fossil fuel pollution.
Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus, warned that this likely will not be the last record-breaking day, as the planet’s climate continues to warm. “We are now in truly uncharted territory,” Buontempo stated, adding that future months and years are bound to see new temperature records.
Southern Europe has been experiencing extreme heatwaves, and around 100 cities in the United States are facing their hottest start to the summer. The record-breaking temperatures come after June marked the 13th consecutive month of record warmth globally, with every 30-day period in over a year being the hottest ever recorded.
Scientists have attributed this ongoing temperature rise to the combination of natural climate patterns like El Niño and the intensifying effects of human-driven pollution, particularly from the burning of fossil fuels. Data from ice cores and coral reefs suggest that, despite fluctuations due to natural factors, the Earth is in the warmest phase it has seen in at least 100,000 years.
