View Full Size / Absolute readings illustrate the similarities between July 2023 and 2024. (credit: C3S/ECMWF)
The last few years have been characterized by unprecedented heat, culminating in 2023 being recognized as the hottest year on record globally. This trend showed no signs of abating in 2024, with every month setting a new all-time high for that particular month up until recently; June of this year was also noted as the warmest June ever documented. However, despite some remarkable temperature spikes in July, it narrowly missed surpassing last year’s record for that same month, effectively bringing this impressive streak to an end.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service of Europe was the first to report that July 2024’s temperatures were slightly below those recorded in July 2023—a difference of just 0.04° C prevented it from establishing a new record high temperature for that month. As it stands currently, major temperature tracking organizations such as Berkeley Earth or NASA GISS have yet to release their findings for July; each employs unique methodologies which might yield comparative but varied results given such a minuscule margin.
How alarming is the extent of these recent temperature trends? When comparing temperatures from every July between 1991 and 2020—an era during which climate change had already notably raised global temperatures—July of this year stood out at an astonishing average increase of 0.68° C above that baseline.
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