June 2023: Hottest month ever recorded on Earth

Global temperature maps show rising temperatures as Earth's oceans absorbed a record amount of heat from the atmosphere last year, according to a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Additionally, June 2023 averaged 61.7 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the warmest month on record since records began in 1979. But Earth appears to be on track to break that record this month, as average atmospheric temperatures on July 4th and July 5th. It broke the previous record and reached 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit.

The average ocean temperature measured between 60°N and 60°S latitude was 69.4°F. Scientists who study the relationship between the ocean and the atmosphere are concerned about the long-term impact of rising ocean temperatures, including changes in the migratory patterns of marine life, increased ocean acidity, and the destruction of coral reefs, mangroves, and wetlands that act barriers against storms and sea level rise.

"This is an extremely rare event that we're living through right now, in terms of global temperatures in the ocean," said Benjamin Kirtman, director of the Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami. "There are a number of different factors that may be contributing to that, but we don't know for sure exactly what's going on."

Experts at the Copernicus Climate Change Service, who work under the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, attribute the record temperatures to the build-up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted by human activities, along with the influence of the powerful El Niño weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean. These factors and global warming have led to an unprecedented increase in temperature around the world.

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"The month was the warmest June globally at just over 0.5°C above the 1991 to 2020 average, exceeding June 2019 — the previous record — by a substantial margin," the Copernicus report stated. "Exceptionally warm sea surface temperature anomalies were recorded in the North Atlantic. Extreme marine heatwaves were observed around Ireland, the UK, and in the Baltic Sea.”

The effects of this heat wave are wide-ranging, from record temperatures in northern Europe to significant reductions in sea ice cover in the waters around Antarctica. In June, the global atmospheric temperature exceeded the 1991-2020 average by 0.95°F, surpassing the previous June record set in 2019.

Europe experienced an even higher temperature anomaly, reaching 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit above average. The report highlighted that record temperatures were observed in several regions, including northwestern Europe, parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Asia, and eastern Australia.

Some areas, such as Western Australia, parts of the western United States, and western Russia, experienced cooler-than-normal temperatures. In the UK, June has officially become the hottest month since 1884, with experts blaming worsening conditions on a marine heat wave around the British Isles.

"Provisional findings from the Met [Meteorlogical] Office suggest this marine heat wave in turn amplified land temperatures even further to the record levels seen during the month," said Ségolène Berthou, scientific manager of Met Office, the U.K.'s leading weather agency.

Meanwhile, Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet said on Tuesday that organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympics were paying close attention to long-term climate models as parts of Europe baked again in near-record temperatures.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the heat wave in the Northern Hemisphere will intensify this week, with temperatures expected to reach above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for several days in the Mediterranean, North America, Asia, and North Africa.

Blistering temperatures across parts of southern and eastern Europe have coincided with wildfires from Greece to the Swiss Alps and deadly floods in India and South Korea, refocusing attention on the dangers of climate change.

"The consequences of climate change have affected sports organizations around the world," said Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee.

The WMO said the new temperature records may fall in the coming days. The previous highest European record was 48.8 degrees Celsius, achieved in Sicily in August 2021. France hit a high of 46C in 2019 and had its hottest July on record last summer, when drought-induced forest fires ravaged the country.

(Source: Wire reports)

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