6th July 2023
Scientists have warned that these record temperatures bear the fingerprints of the climate crisis. And to make matters worse, the stars are aligning this year for many more records to be broken as El Niño, which also has a warming impact, pushes temperatures to unprecedented levels.
Northwest Europe experienced record-breaking temperatures last, including the UK, which logged its hottest June on record, according to the UK Met Office. Temperatures in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Asia and eastern Australia were “significantly” warmer than normal in June, according to the report.
In the US, Texas and parts of the South experienced a brutal heat wave late in June, with triple-digit-Fahrenheit temperatures and extreme humidity. The heat, which stretched south to Central America, killed at least 112 people in Mexico since March.
Extremely hot days — what could be considered the hottest days of the summer — are more frequent now than in 1970 in 195 locations across the US, according to the research group Climate Central. Of those locations, roughly 71% now face at least seven additional extremely hot days each year.
The oceans continued a remarkable warming trend since the start of 2023, according to Thursday’s report.
The North Atlantic recorded exceptionally warm ocean temperatures in June, with a category 4 marine heat wave — defined as “extreme” — observed around Ireland, the UK and in the Baltic Sea.
Last month was the planet’s hottest June on record by a huge margin | CNN
