This July was the hottest on Earth's surface since observations began in 1940

"Same as the figure '1.5 degrees higher than pre-industrial levels'"
Sea surface temperature also at record high

This July was recorded as the hottest month ever for both the Earth's surface and sea surface temperatures.

Graph of Earth's surface temperature. Photo by World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

On the 8th (local time), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced that "the average global surface temperature in July this year was 16.95 degrees Celsius, the highest monthly record since observations and records began in 1940."

According to the data, the average surface temperature in July this year was significantly higher than the previous record set in July 2019 (16.63 degrees). It was 0.72 degrees higher than the average temperature from 1991 to 2020.

The WMO stated, "This figure is close to the '1.5 degrees Celsius increase compared to pre-industrial levels,' which the international community considers the critical limit for climate change."

The 1.5-degree Celsius rise in global temperature is the limit agreed upon by the international community through the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

The WMO introduced the estimated temperature corresponding to this limit as 16.96 degrees Celsius and pointed out that the average temperature in July this year has risen to a level almost indistinguishable from this limit.

In July this year, sea surface temperatures also broke historical records.

The average global sea surface temperature reached 20.95 degrees Celsius in July this year. This slightly surpassed the previous record of 20.95 degrees set in March 2016. The WMO added that this is 0.51 degrees higher than the average sea surface temperature from 1991 to 2020.

The WMO noted, "The average global temperature this year is 0.43 degrees higher than the historical average, making it the third highest annual average temperature on record, and July's temperature is 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels."

The WMO added, "While these records may be temporary, they demonstrate the urgent need for the world's ambitious efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main cause of these abnormal high temperatures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.