The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced on Tuesday that the average temperature recorded across the globe in July, 16.95°C, was the highest on record, citing data from the European agency Copernicus.
Last month, marked by heat waves and fires around the world, was 0.33°C warmer than the month that held the record so far (July 2019, which averaged 16.63°C ). The air temperature was also 0.72°C warmer than the average (1991-2020) for July, Copernicus reported in its bulletin.
For the WMO, the month was about 1.5°C warmer than the 1850-1900 average. Concretely, this materialized in heat waves, which were recorded in many regions of the northern hemisphere, including southern Europe.
“We have just seen new records for both global air and ocean surface temperatures in July. These records have disastrous consequences for people and for the planet, exposed to more frequent and more intense extreme events”, said, in a press release, the Deputy Director of the European Copernicus service on climate change (C3S), Samantha Burgess. .
“2023 is the third hottest year so far with 0.43°C above the recent average” and “global average temperature in July 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”, a- she added.
In his words, « even if this situation is only temporary, it shows the urgent need for ambitious efforts to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases, which are the main factor behind these records ».
By OMA Newsletter N° 1283 of 09/08/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
