This year is projected to become the hottest on record worldwide, experts have cautioned.
This forecast follows the European Union’s climate monitoring agency (Copernicus) documenting the warmest summer since records commenced.
Although the UK had its coldest summer since 2015, temperatures remained above normal across many parts of Europe, as reported by Copernicus.
Earlier this summer, temperatures soared into the low 40s in regions of southern Europe, prompting unusual red weather alerts, drought conditions and wildfire alerts in areas of Greece and Italy.
Last year set records, with a temporary increase due to El Niño intensifying temperatures and extreme weather events.
However, the northern meteorological summer – comprising June, July, and August – averaged 16.8°C this year, as indicated by the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
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Extreme heat warning in Spain
This temperature is 0.03°C warmer than the previous record set in 2023.
Moreover, the average global temperature during the past 12 months (September 2023 to August 2024) has been 0.7°C higher than the 1991-2020 average, marking the highest level recorded for any twelve-month duration.
Beyond Europe, temperatures have also exceeded averages in eastern Antarctica, Texas, Mexico, Canada, northeast Africa, Iran, China, Japan, and Australia.
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Samantha Burgess, the deputy director of Copernicus, remarked: “Over the past three months of 2024, the Earth has experienced the hottest June and August, the hottest day on record, and the most intense boreal summer recorded.
“This sequence of unprecedented temperatures is elevating the probability of 2024 becoming the hottest year on record.
“The extreme weather phenomena observed this summer are expected to intensify further, leading to even more disastrous consequences for humanity and the planet unless we take immediate measures to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.”
Copernicus records date back to 1940, which scientists have cross-verified with other datasets to affirm that this summer was the hottest since the pre-industrial period commencing in 1850.
