Climate change: World sees hottest day ever on July 4

Karam Prakash

New Delhi, July 5

July 4 was the hottest day globally ever recorded, according to climate scientists, based on data from the US government’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction. The average worldwide temperature on Tuesday reached 17.18°C. Tuesday’s temperature was about 0.98°C hotter than the average for the time of year during the late 20th Century when human activities had already warmed global temperatures.

The record global temperature was the result of climate change, caused by burning fossil fuels and other human activities, combined with the emerging El Nino weather pattern, according to Dr Robert Rohde, lead scientist at Berkeley Earth, a US non-profit climate research organisation. Dr Rohde predicts that the record may be broken again over the coming weeks. According to the recent IPCC reports, global temperatures have not been as high as they are now for 1,25,000 years.

An analysis by Climate Central found that such temperatures were made at least five times more likely due to human-induced climate change. Climate change made the heatwave at least five times more likely, according to a rapid assessment by Climate Central.

Temperatures in North Africa approached 50°C, as a heatwave continued – with climate change again having been a major factor. Ocean temperatures around the British Isles and the Nordic countries continued to be high, although slightly cooler than in previous weeks when an extreme marine heatwave had threatened marine life.

The Antarctic region also experienced very high temperatures, with many stations registering positive temperatures despite the winter season. The Vernadsky station broke its July temperature record, with 8.7°C.

Friederike Otto, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment in UK, said, “This is not a milestone we should be celebrating, it’s a death sentence for people and ecosystems. And worryingly, it won’t be the hottest day for a long time. With El Niño developing, the world will likely break this record again in the coming months. We absolutely need to stop burning fossil fuels.”

Saleemul Huq, Director, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), Independent University, Bangladesh, “Loss and damage from human-induced climate change has arrived throughout the world with the hottest day ever. Expect many hottest days in future.”