July’s temperature was 0.33 °Celsius higher than the record set in July 2019 when the average temperature was 16.63°C.
“Heatwaves were experienced in multiple regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including southern Europe. Well-above average temperatures occurred over several South American countries and around much of Antarctica,” the EU climate observatory Copernicus said. The previous record was 20.95°C in March 2016, a spokesman for Copernicus climate change service earlier told AFP.“We just witnessed global air temperatures and global ocean surface temperatures set new all-time records in July. These records have dire consequences for both people and the planet exposed to ever more frequent and intense extreme events,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the EU’s Copernicus climate change service.
Forest fires have ravaged swathes of Greece and burnt 30 million acres in Canada, while southern Europe, parts of North Africa, southern US, and pockets of China have been reeling under a punishing heatwave.