July 2023 was not only the hottest July on record, but also the hottest month ever recorded, scientists at NASA confirmed.
A temperature anomaly map created by scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) shows how hot the planet was compared to the average temperature for July across the world. Worldwide, July was 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the average of all Julys between 1951 and 1980, and 0.43 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than all other Julys recorded since 1880.
The map reveals which areas of the globe felt the heat worst, with deeper red areas having been measured as 7 degrees Fahrenheit above the monthly average. Worst-hit areas include South America, North Africa, North America and the Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctica's sea ice also took a hit and was measured as 15 percent below the average for this time of year, making it by far the lowest level during July since records began in 1979.
Increased heat can lead to more severe drought conditions, which can exacerbate wildfires like those seen in Hawaii and Canada this month.
"This July was not just warmer than any previous July – it was the warmest month in our record, which goes back to 1880," GISS Director Gavin Schmidt said in a statement from NASA.
Sea surface temperatures have also seen record highs: the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, found that global average sea surface temperatures were 0.92 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1991-2020 average.
Ocean temperatures in the Pacific can be a result of El Niño (the warm phase of a climate pattern across the tropical Pacific), but the effects of the currently developing El Niño have not started to make an impact, meaning that the oceans are expected to heat up even further when it does.
"One of the reasons this record is concerning is that the effects of El Niño on global temperatures normally have a several-month lag and are felt in the winter and spring," Schmidt said in a GISS statement. "Even though we have an El Niño developing now, the record warmth we are seeing is not yet related to that in a significant way. We expect to see the biggest impacts of the developing El Niño in February, March, and April 2024."
The top-five hottest Julys since 1880 have all happened in the past five years, according to GISS temperature anomaly data, as a result of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
"The science is clear this isn't normal. Alarming warming around the world is driven primarily by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. And that rise in average temperatures is fueling dangerous extreme heat that people are experiencing here at home and worldwide," Schmidt said in the NASA statement.
"In every corner of the country, Americans are right now experiencing firsthand the effects of the climate crisis, underscoring the urgency of President Biden's historic climate agenda," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, referring to the Biden administration's goal of reducing emissions in the United States 50-52 percent by 2030.
"The science is clear. We must act now to protect our communities and planet; it's the only one we have," Nelson said.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jess Thomson is a Newsweek Science Reporter based in London UK. Her focus is reporting on science, technology and healthcare. ... Read more
