Monday, July 3, 2023, will go down in history as the day with the highest average temperature, on the planet as a whole, since humans recorded this type of data with precision instruments and in real time (daily). In addition, the average on the earth's surface exceeded last Monday for the first time the symbolic barrier of 17 degrees (17.01 ºC, to be exact), according to preliminary data from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released by AFP.
The average daily air temperature at the planet's surface on July 3 was 17.01 °C, a measurement that exceeds the previous daily record (16.92 °C) set on July 24 of last year. This type of daily data is collected by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction since 1979.
The world's average air temperature, which fluctuates between around 12°C and just under 17°C on any given day during the year, averaged 16.2°C in early July between 1979 and 2000.
The record has not yet been corroborated by other measurements, but it could soon be broken when summer begins in the northern hemisphere, according to experts consulted by AFP.
The average global temperature generally continues to rise until late July or early August.
Even last month, average global temperatures were the warmest the European Union's Copernicus climate monitoring unit had recorded for early June.
Temperatures are likely to rise further above historical averages over the next year with the start of an El Nino weather phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, which the World Meteorological Organization confirmed on Monday is already underway.
Additionally, human activity—primarily the burning of fossil fuels—continues to emit an estimated 40 billion metric tons of planet-warming CO₂ into the atmosphere each year.
