July 2023: the hottest month in history

Era of global boiling - 14th August 2023

July 2023's been declared the hottest month since records began. Following the hottest June on record, July 2023, with 21 of the warmest days in history, broke the record for the warmest day on July 6th.

Occurring during the last 25 years, the 30 hottest recorded months saw global temperatures usually climbing by 0.02 to 0.05 degrees celsius. However, July 2023's average global temperature stood at 16.95 degrees celsius, 0.33 degrees higher than the previous hottest month recorded, July 2019.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres remarked, "The era of global warming has ended. The era of global boiling has arrived." Guterres also urged G20 countries, accountable for 80 percent of the world's carbon emissions, to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

Life threatening heat waves scorched China, North America and the Mediterranean raising temperatures by 1, 2 and 2.5 degrees respectively. The unprecedented temperatures contributed to wildfires in Greece, Tunisia, Algeria and Italy, which ruined over 100 thousand hectares, dealing massive ecological and economic damage.

Scientists predict this year will see more record high temperatures due to El Niño, a heating weather pattern that occurs every 2 to 7 years, which has returned after its cooling counterpart, La Niña, ended last year. Evenmore, excessive greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are exacerbating global warming.

Researchers believe that within the next five years we'll have risen 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-Industrial Revolution temperatures. At 1.5 degrees, extreme weather events such as wildfires and hurricanes may occur more regularly.

Climate scientist Friederike Otto warned, "We have to live with these and make it possible for people to live with these extreme conditions in summers. They are not rare. And the later we stop burning fossil fuels, the more frequent they become."