July has set a new record, becoming the hottest month in Earth’s history, accompanied by a surge in natural disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires, and floods.
Human-induced climate change, driven by activities such as coal burning and deforestation, is the main culprit behind these extreme heatwaves, according to a global temperature analysis by Climate Central. The average global temperature in July reached a staggering 17.01 degrees Celsius, the highest recorded in the 175-year history of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This marks a 1.21-degree Celsius increase compared to the 20th-century average.
In the United States, July’s average temperature was 24.3 degrees Celsius, making it the 11th hottest July in the past 130 years. On July 7th, Las Vegas hit an all-time high of 49 degrees Celsius, while Washington D.C. experienced four consecutive days of temperatures surpassing 38 degrees Celsius, tying the city’s previous record for the longest stretch of such extreme heat.
The monthly report from NOAA also suggests that 2024 has a 77% chance of becoming the hottest year on record and is almost certain to rank in the top five. Africa, Europe, and Asia all recorded their hottest July in history, while North America experienced its second hottest July ever.
NOAA’s data differs slightly from that of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Copernicus, using a different dataset, calculated that this July was the second hottest on record, just below July 2023. However, both agencies agree on the alarming trend of record-breaking heat.
NOAA reported that July’s ocean temperatures were the second warmest ever recorded, consistent with findings from Copernicus. Last week, Copernicus scientists noted that despite the transition from the El Niño weather pattern (which typically raises global temperatures) to its cooler counterpart, La Niña, ocean air temperatures remained unusually high across many regions.
Rising temperatures are not just making the world hotter—they’re fueling more powerful and frequent storm systems. The warmer the climate, the more water evaporates, feeding energy into tropical systems that are forming and intensifying over seas with surface temperatures that are climbing beyond average levels. Additionally, higher temperatures exacerbate droughts, creating the perfect conditions for wildfires to ignite and spread.
In recent weeks, climate change has driven an onslaught of extreme weather events across the globe. In Cape Town, South Africa, thousands were forced to evacuate as heavy rains, strong winds, floods, and other disasters swept through the region. On July 7th, torrential rains triggered landslides on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, claiming more than 10 lives. Meanwhile, Japanese officials reported that over 120 people succumbed to a record-breaking heatwave in Tokyo last month.
Hurricane Beryl shattered meteorological records, particularly in terms of its formation and intensity. It became the strongest hurricane to develop in the Atlantic’s Main Development Region (MDR) before July and was the earliest Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Beryl wreaked havoc as it made landfall three times in just one week: first striking Grenada on July 1st, then slamming into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on July 5th, and finally battering Texas, USA, on July 8th.
In California, USA, more than 13,000 residents were forced to evacuate on July 2nd and 3rd due to the massive Thompson Fire. Later in the month, on July 24th, the Park Fire erupted, becoming the fourth-largest wildfire in the state’s history, scorching an area of over 1,600 square kilometers.
In the United States, from January to the end of July 2024, there have been 19 weather and climate disasters each costing over a billion dollars, making it the second-highest number for this period, trailing only behind January to July 2023. This year alone, these catastrophic events have claimed at least 149 lives, with total damages exceeding $49.6 billion.
