Hottest day in the history of the planet is recorded – 7/4/2023 – Environment

Last Monday, July 3, was the hottest day ever recorded on the planet, according to data from the US National Center for Environmental Prediction, linked to the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The average global temperature reached 17.01°C, surpassing the previous record of August 2016, when 16.92°C were recorded.

The southern United States has suffered in recent weeks with a heat dome, the name given to the phenomenon that occurs when the atmosphere retains hot air and forms a kind of cap in a given region. In China, a persistent heat wave has led to temperatures above 35°C, and North Africa has seen nearly 50°C.

Even Antarctica in winter has seen unusually high temperatures this year. Ukraine’s Vernadsky research base in the Argentine islands recently broke its July temperature record of 8.7°C.

“This is not a milestone we should celebrate,” said climate scientist Friederike Otto of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and Environment at Imperial College London in the UK. “It’s a death sentence for people and ecosystems.”

Scientists say climate change, combined with an emerging El Niño pattern, was responsible for the new record.

For Zeke Hausfather, scientist at the NGO Berkeley Earth, “Sadly, this promises to be just the first in a series of new records set this year, as rising emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases, along with an El Growing Niños raise temperatures to new heights.”