July poised to be hottest month on record as heatwaves engulf globe: UN

United Nations (UN) has said that Julyis "extremely likely" to be the hottest month ever recorded in history, as scorching heatwaves grip various regions of the world. Data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) indicate that the first three weeks of July have been the warmest on record, pointing to the likelihood of July becoming the hottest July and hottest month overall.

This comes as heatwaves have been occurring more frequently and with greater intensity in recent years, and scientific evidence suggests that human activities, particularly the emission of greenhouse gases, are a major contributing factor to global warming and the increased frequency of heatwaves.

Heatwaves across continents

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The record-breaking heat is largely attributed to a series of heatwaves that have affected large parts of Asia, Europe, and North America.

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July 6th this year stands as the hottest single day ever recorded, surpassing the previous day's record and the previous all-time high set in August 2016.

Moreover, during the first and third weeks of July, global mean temperatures have risen more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, a threshold considered a point of no return for warming by the United Nations.

Unprecedented ocean temperatures

Copernicus also reports that global average sea surface temperatures have exceeded typical levels since May 2023. Notably, July has seen the highest ocean temperatures ever recorded for this time of the year, further stressing the severity of the ongoing climate crisis.

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These record temperatures come after the hottest June on record.

The current records for the hottest July and hottest month were set in 2019, but July 2023 is set to break those records. The World Meteorological Organization will release the full July data on August 8th, confirming the extent of the temperature anomalies.

Human activity as the main driver

Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, saidthat the drastic increase in global temperatures is primarily driven by anthropogenic emissions. “July’s record is unlikely to remain isolated this year, [Copernicus’s] seasonal forecasts indicate that over land areas temperatures are likely to be well above average, exceeding the 80th percentile of climatology for the time of year," he added.

UN secretary-general statement

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his concern over the situation. He stated that July 2023 is poised to break records across the board, leading to severe consequences for vast regions of North America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

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“For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe — it is a cruel summer. For the entire planet, it is a disaster. And for scientists, it is unequivocal — humans are to blame,” he said adding, “All this is entirely consistent with predictions and repeated warnings. The only surprise is the speed of the change.”

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