Second Hottest July Breaks 13-Month Record Streak, EU Scientists Report

July 2024 was the second hottest July on record globally, breaking a 13-month streak where each month set new temperature records, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. This heat was partly driven by the warming effects of the El Niño weather pattern.

The Copernicus report highlighted that July's global temperature was 1.48 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial baseline of 1850-1990. Over the past 12 months, temperatures were 1.64 degrees Celsius above this baseline, underscoring the impact of climate change.

In addition to this, July 2024 recorded the two hottest days ever observed. The high temperatures are largely attributed to greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-based industries. Remarkably, even oceans not typically affected by El Niño experienced unusual temperature increases.

"This El Niño has ended, but the magnitude of global temperature rises remains consistent with what we observed a year ago," Julien Nicolas, a climate researcher with Copernicus, told Reuters. He warned that despite the end of this particular El Niño, the world is not finished setting temperature records, and heatwaves will continue. "We know with a very high level of confidence that this long-term warming trend is related to human impact on the climate."

In July, above-average temperatures were recorded across southern and eastern Europe, the western United States, western Canada, most of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and eastern Antarctica. Conversely, near or below-average temperatures were observed in northwestern Europe, western Antarctica, parts of the United States, South America, and Australia.

July 2024 also brought wetter-than-average conditions to northern Europe and southeastern Turkey, while drought warnings persisted in southern and eastern Europe.

The report also noted that Arctic sea ice levels were 7% below average, a decline from 2022 and 2023, though not as severe as the record 14% drop in 2020. Antarctic sea ice saw its second-lowest extent for July, at 11% below average, compared to a 15% drop in July of the previous year.

Global sea temperatures remain close to record highs, with July 2024 just 0.1 degrees Celsius below the record set in July 2023, ending a 15-month streak of consecutive new records.

"What we observed was surprising in terms of the extent of warming," Nicolas commented. "This raises questions about what is happening in the oceans outside of natural climate patterns like El Niño or La Niña events. Are there shifts occurring in ocean currents?"