Heatwaves surge worldwide as researchers' analysis indicates global temperatures reaching new highs

Monday, July 10, 2023

Last week, the world experienced three of the hottest days on record, University of Maine scientists' Climate Reanalyzer program indicated, ending with July 6, when it said the average global temperature reached a record 63 °F (17.2 °C).

The Climate Reanalyzer reported those three days surpassed the previous record, a 62.46 °F (16.9 °C) tie between days in July 2022 and August 2016. Researchers attributed their findings to heatwaves in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and El Niño, a climatic phenomenon involving elevated Pacific Ocean temperatures.

The program drew on data the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Maine have compiled since 1979 on the average global temperature two meters above the Earth's surface. Scientists expressed confidence these average global temperature readings were the highest since instrumental measurements commenced in the 1850s, however.

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts declared last month the warmest on record. June's blistering temperatures strained infrastructure and public health services as residents of Europe and China, as well as, at one point, 120 million of the US, were under heat advisories.

Vox reported climate change fueled this heatwave, as rising global temperatures from greenhouse gas emissions intensify the frequency and severity of such events, cautioning future heatwaves will surpass it in intensity and duration.

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Sources

Samantha Davies. "Earth's hottest day record set, reset three times this week" — KXAS-TV, July 7, 2023
Benji Jones. "Yes, it's hot. But this could be one of the coolest summers of the rest of your life." — Vox, July 6, 2023
Associated Press. Signs Earth's Climate May Have Entered Uncharted Territory <broken link> [archived version] — Time (magazine), July 6, 2023
David Stanway. "World hits record land, sea temperatures as climate change fuels 2023 extremes" — Reuters, July 3, 2023

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