The summer of 2024 broke global heat records for the second year in a row, making it likely to be the hottest since temperature records began, Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said.
Global average temperatures from June to August were 0.69 degrees above the 1991-2020 average, surpassing the previous record of 0.66 degrees set in 2023, according to the European Union’s climate monitor.
Europe experienced its hottest summer on record, with temperatures rising to 1.54 degrees above average, surpassing the previous record of 1.34 degrees in 2022.
August 2024 was tied with August 2023 and was recorded as the warmest August in the world, with an average air temperature on the surface of 16.82 degrees.
The global average temperature anomaly since the beginning of the year (from January to August 2024) is 0.70 degrees above average, which makes it increasingly likely that 2024 will be the warmest year on record, Copernicus announced.
“Over the past three months, the world has faced the hottest June and August, the hottest day on record and the hottest boreal summer,” said C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess.
She warned that the extreme temperature events we are witnessing this summer will only intensify, with even more devastating consequences for people and the planet, unless urgent action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are the main cause of climate change.
