World sets new record for hottest day.

Extract from ABC News 

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Posted 17 hours ago

The average global temperature has hit a record high as heatwaves continue around the world.(Reuters: Victor Medina)

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In short: 

According to preliminary data, July 21 broke the record for the world's hottest day.

The global average surface air temperature reached 17.09 degrees Celsius.

What's next? 

Some scientists have suggested 2024 could surpass 2023 as the hottest year on record.

Sunday, July 21, was the hottest day ever recorded, according to preliminary data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, which has tracked such global weather patterns since 1940.

The global average surface air temperature on Sunday reached 17.09 degrees Celsius — slightly higher than the previous record of 17.08C set last July — as heatwaves scorched large swathes of the United States, Europe and Russia.

Director of the Copernicus service, Carlo Buontempo, said it was possible Sunday's record could be eclipsed this week as heatwaves continued to sizzle across the world.

"When you have these peaks, they tend to cluster together," he said.

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In 2023, the record was broken four days in row — from July 3 to July 6 — as climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, drove extreme heat across the northern hemisphere.

While Sunday's record was only marginally higher than last year's reading, "what is remarkable is how different the temperature of the last 13 months is with respect to the previous records", Mr Buontempo said.

Every month since June 2023 has now ranked as the planet's hottest since records began, compared with the corresponding month in previous years.

Some scientists have suggested 2024 could surpass 2023 as the hottest year since records began, as climate change and the El Niño natural weather phenomenon — which ended in April — have pushed temperatures even higher this year.

"As a consequence of the increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere — we are bound to see new records being broken in the next few months, in the next few years," Mr Buontempo said.

Scientists and environmental advocates have long called for global leaders and wealthier countries to phase out and end their reliance on fossil fuels to prevent catastrophic effects from climate change, including increased heatwaves.

Reuters