The world experienced record-breaking heat from June to August this year.
The global average temperature for these three months was 16.82 degrees Celsius. This is the highest global temperature ever recorded in human history.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service, a European organization for climate observation and forecasting, confirmed this data in a report released on Friday. Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the organization, said in a statement, “The northern hemisphere experiences summer from June to August, while the southern hemisphere experiences winter. Never before has the global average temperature increased to this extent due to summer in the northern hemisphere. According to known human history, 2024 is now the warmest year on record.”
She further stated, “The current average global temperature has exceeded the pre-industrial era (before the 18th century) by 1.5 degrees Celsius, and this has happened in 2024.
However, the temperature did not increase everywhere in the world from June to August. According to the Copernicus report, the temperature in Alaska, the eastern part of the United States, some parts of South America, Pakistan, and the Sahel region of North Africa was lower than the average temperature of those regions this summer.
On the other hand, Australia, parts of China, Japan, and Spain experienced record heat from June to August. Interestingly, Australia, located in the Southern Hemisphere, was experiencing winter during this period.
The increase in surface temperature has also led to a rise in ocean temperatures. According to Copernicus data, the average surface temperature of the ocean was 21 degrees Celsius in August.
Due to record high temperatures, the frequency of natural disasters such as droughts, wildfires, storms, excessive rainfall, and floods has increased worldwide. While Mexico and various regions of Europe have experienced droughts and wildfires in the last three months, excessive rainfall, floods, and landslides have occurred in parts of Russia, Turkey, the Middle East, China, and India.
Samantha Burgess has pointed out that human-induced greenhouse gas emissions and the failure to control them are the primary causes of the current increase in temperature and climate change.
