Breaking the Heat Trend – After 13 Months – Sydsvenskan

Since June 2023, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Service has recorded 13 record-breaking months in a row. Instead, July 2024 became the second warmest July on record — and the second warmest month overall, according to Copernicus.

The global average temperature was 16.91 degrees, 0.04 degrees cooler than July last year — and 0.68 degrees warmer than the 1991-2020 July average.

This July was 1.48°C warmer than the pre-industrial average (1850-1900), meaning the 12-month streak of temperatures 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average has now also been broken.

“The record-breaking months have ended, but only by a small margin. Globally, July 2024 was almost as warm as July 2023, the hottest month on record. July 2024 had the two hottest days on record. The context has not changed, and our climate continues to warm,” Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said in a press release.

Copernicus also notes that July this year was wetter than usual in large parts of the Nordic region, as well as in the Netherlands, France and England. The rains caused flooding in parts of the Baltic states. China was also hit by flooding, while deadly Hurricane Beryl wreaked havoc in the Caribbean, Mexico and the United States.

Elsewhere in the world, the month has been unusually dry, particularly in an area stretching from western Russia, across the Balkans and into Italy. Drought warnings are being issued in eastern and southern Europe.

FIXED: In a previous release, the wrong month was specified when the warming trend started.