Monday, July 22, 2024, Was The Planet’s Hottest Day On Record

The global average temperature on 22 July was 17.15°C, around 0.06°C hotter than the day before. The temperature had previously been broken in July 2023. Before then, the previous record of 16.92°C was set in August 2016.

Global temperatures are now the highest they have been for around 125,000 years, as a result of climate change caused by burning coal, oil and gas, and deforestation.

Global temperatures during the last decade were hotter than the previous warm period, around 6,500 years ago. The next most recent warm period, was about 125,000 years ago when the temperature range was 0.5°C-1.5°C hotter than temperatures before humans began warming the planet.

This means the last time the planet consistently reached temperatures seen this month was about 125,000 years ago, during the Eemian period, when the ancestor of modern humans, homo erectus, still walked the Earth. Sea levels were likely about 8 metres higher at the time then they are today, and hippos lived as far north as the British Isles.

The temperature rise of recent decades is exactly what was projected would happen if fossil fuels continued . For example, a 1981 study introduced a climate model that accurately projected how temperatures would rise over the following 40 years, Average temperatures have not been this high since long before humans developed agriculture.

Dr. Joyce Kimutai, Climate Scientist, Imperial College London said “This is exactly what climate science told us would happen if the world continued burning coal, oil and gas. And it will continue getting hotter until we stop burning fossil fuels and reach net zero emissions.

Dr. Karsten Haustein, Climate Scientist, Leipzig University said Monday might have set a new global record for warmest absolute global average temperature ever. It is remarkable because we have transitioned well into ‘Neutral’ ENSO territory, as opposed to El Niño conditions that increased global temperatures last summer.”

The warming pattern responsible for the record temperature on July 21 seems to be more or less uniform across the planet.

We have already seen a hot 13-month streak( continous increase) since June 2023 when the global average temperature in each month was the highest on record. Unless we limit global warming by rapidly cutting the emission of greenhouse gases, weather records will continue to break frequently.

July 21 and 22 around the world

Image above: Climate Central’s Climate Shift Index (CSI): It quantified the local influence of climate change on daily temperatures across the globe. Using a peer-reviewed scientific methodology, the index shows how much human-induced climate change shifted the odds of daily temperatures that people experienced locally. For example, a CSI level 3, 4 and 5 above (bright and dark red) indicates that local temperatures were at least 3 times more likely because of climate change between July 21 and 22.

On July 21, several cities in Japan recorded temperatures as high as 37°C, with over 200 locations facing record-breaking heat. Record temperatures were registered in Indonesia and China, where companies suspended production due to brutal heat. In India and Pakistan, heat over 40°C combined

with high humidity of up to 82% resulted in life-threatening conditions and heat indexes above 55°C, leading to the death of an officer during their patrol. So far this year, thousands of heatstroke cases have been reported in India, with at least 110 heat-related deaths, a number likely underestimated.

Gulf countries experienced extreme heat indexes exceeding 60°C. Temperatures reached 42°C in Iran and 45°C in Dubai, while heat indexes – factoring in humidity – reached 61°C in Abu Dhabi. Nighttime temperatures remained above 30°C in several regions, including in Egypt, where increased electricity demand led to temporary blackouts during the hot nights. Record-breaking nighttime temperatures have severe consequences to human health, as hot nights prevent recovery from heat and increase the risk of physical and mental health problems.

Temperatures in parts of Europe exceeded 45°C, while in Morocco and Algeria, they were near 50°C. Several cities in southern and eastern Europe faced red alerts due to heat, wildfire, and strain on power grids. Greece recorded its earliest-ever heatwave, experiencing 11 consecutive days of temperatures above 40°C – other affected countries are Italy, Croatia, and Albania.

In other regions, record heat fueled fires. Record wildfires in Pantanal – the world’s largest wetland, between Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil – continued to destroy the wildlife, having burned over 77,000 square km of land so far in 2024, twice as much as the previous record. In California, large fires, fueled by a scorching heatwave, spread and forced people to evacuate from their homes.

122 oil, gas, coal and cement producers are responsible for around three-quarters of the warming the world has experienced so far. Major fossil fuel companies, including Exxon, Shell, BP, Total, and Chevron, are facing legal action aimed at holding them accountable for the costs of climate change and for allegedly misleading consumers about their role in causing it

As confirmed again in the most recent report by the IPCC, the UN’s climate science panel, human activity is responsible for all of the warming that has been experienced since the mid-19th Century:

“The likely range of human-induced change in global surface temperature in 2010–2019 relative to 1850–1900 is 0.8°C to 1.3°C, with a central estimate of 1.07°C, encompassing the best estimate of observed warming for that period, which is 1.06°C.

The IPCC also makes clear that fossil fuel use is the main factor driving global warming: “In 2019, around 79% of global GHG emissions came from energy, industry, transport and buildings, and 22% came from agriculture, forestry and other land use.

The writer of this article is Dr. Seema Javed, an environmentalist & a communications professional in the field of climate and energy