Global temperatures hit an all-time high this summer
Data from the EU’s top climate monitor found that temperatures in recent months were the hottest on record
If you’ve spent the last few months trying to beat the heat — investing in air con units, slathering on sunscreen, drinking more water than you thought humanly possible — then the approach of a less-feverish fall likely can’t come quickly enough.
Now, new data from the EU’s top climate monitor, Copernicus Climate Change Service, has confirmed that, yes: this summer was unseasonably hot. Global surface air temperatures from June through August averaged +0.69°C above the 1991-2020 mean temperature for these 3 months… breaking the previous record, set just last year, of +0.66°C.
This summer's sweltering temperatures all but confirm that 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on the books — in July, scientists reported that the hottest day on record was broken twice in the same week.
While the US has seen an onslaught of national heat warnings owing to chart-busting temperatures, the situation has been especially dire in Europe. Indeed, everywhere from Athens to Zagreb, locals and tourists alike have faced unexpectedly stifling heat, with global surface air temperatures across the continent for Jun-Aug averaging a massive +1.54°C deviation from the 1991-2020 standard.
