New data reveals just how hot it was across the globe in July
After June 2019 was recognized by a number of official organizations as the hottest June on record, July may have now been the hottest month ever recorded. That’s according to the Copernicus Centre for Climate Studies (C3S), which presented its data sets with the announcement that this July may have been marginally hotter than that of 2016, which was previously the hottest month on record.
With July 2019 in the books, a team of European climate researchers has revealed its findings about the temperatures across the globe and how it compares to some of the hottest months on record.
According to an analysis conducted by Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), based out of Europe, July 2019 ranked as the hottest month in recorded history.
“The global average temperature for July 2019 was on a par with, and possibly marginally higher than, that of July 2016, which followed an El Niño event. This was previously the warmest July and warmest month of all on record,” C3S stated in a press release.
This follows the hottest June in 140 years of recordkeeping with with global temperatures averaging 1.71 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average.
The Washington Monument is silhouetted against the morning sky as the sun rises at the start of a hot day in Washington, Saturday July 20, 2019. Temperatures in the Nation's Capital are expected to reach the upper 90s. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)
The findings about July being the hottest month on record were derived from surface air temperature data collected from around the globe throughout the entire month.
“The average temperature value shown for July 2019 is based only on the ERA5 dataset from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the European Union,” C3S explained in their press release.
“Putting July 2019 into the bigger picture, the month was close to 1.2°C above the pre-industrial level, as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),” C3S added.
One of the most notable weather headlines around the globe in July was the record-shattering heat wave that spread across Europe late in the month. France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom all set new all-time high temperature records. This includes high temperatures of 101.7 F (38.7 C) in Cambridge, England, and 108.7 F (42.6 C) in Paris.
On the other side of the Northern Hemisphere, Alaska baked under extreme heat. On July 4, Anchorage hit the 90-degree mark for the first time in the city’s history.
A large dome of high pressure had remained nearly stationary across the region for through the first week of July. This, combined with above-normal ocean temperatures, led to record-breaking heat and temperatures averaging 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in parts of the state.
Elsewhere in the country, July brought a deadly heat wave to the central and eastern U.S. with widespread temperatures in the upper 90s F and AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures above 100 F.
The hottest month on record also caused over 200 billion tons of ice to melt across Greenland. This ice melt was enough to cause the global average sea level to rise by 0.02 of an inch.
In this image taken on June 13, 2019 small pieces of ice float in the water off the shore in Nuuk, Greenland. Milder weather than normal since the start of summer in Greenland, led to the UN's weather agency voicing concern that the hot air which produced the recent extreme heat wave in Europe could be headed toward Greenland where it could contribute to increased melting of ice. (AP Photo/Sandy Virgo)
C3S is one of the first global agencies that has released findings about the temperatures across the globe in July.
On Wednesday, Aug. 7, NOAA released a report detailing temperatures across the United States in July. The month was the hottest on record in Alaska and above normal across the balance of the country.
A more comprehensive analysis conducted by NOAA concerning global temperatures in July is expected to be released later this month.
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