July sets new heat records globally
Fears of an ongoing global temperature rise have been confirmed by the latest data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which shows that this July was the warmest month globally ever recorded, with Europe in particular seeing new heat records.
In its monthly State of the Climate Summary report, NOAA recorded a combined average of global land and sea temperatures to be 0.81 degrees Celsius (1.46°Fahrenheit) above the 20th century average of 15.8 degrees Celsius (60.4 degrees Fahrenheit).
Breaking down the numbers, the administration said that the land’s surface was 0.96 degrees C (1.73 degrees Fahrenheit) above the previous century’s average, making it the sixth highest on record for July – climatologically the warmest month of the year.
For instance, temperatures across Africa were the second highest on record. New highs were also recorded across northern South America, parts of southern Europe and central Asia, and the far western United States.
Europe in particular broke all records. Austria recorded its hottest July temperature since 1767, beating the previous 2006 record by 2.7 degrees Celsius (4.9 degrees Fahrenheit). France, the Netherlands, UK, Sweden and Norway also showed new records.
Only part of western Russia, eastern and southern Asia, central and northern North America showed cooler than average readings.
Global oceans’ surface was heated up 0.75 degrees Celsius (1.35 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th century average, making it the highest ever on record, surpassing the previous record set in July 2014 by 0.07 degrees Celsius (0.13 degrees Fahrenheit). Pacific and Indian Oceans showed the most heat retention. North and South Atlantic, and the Barents Sea in the Arctic also witnessed temperature rise.
Only a patch of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Greenland, remained much cooler than average.
What is more alarming is that the entire year 2015 is predicted to become the warmest ever. So far globally-averaged land surface temperature is surpassing the previous record of 2007 by 0.15 degrees Celsius (0.27degrees Fahrenheit).
“Five months this year, including the past three, have been record warm for their respective months. January was the second warmest January on record and April third warmest,” the report reads. Record numbers are seen in South America, Africa, Eurasia, and western North America, including parts of central Siberia.
The sea surface temperature this year is beating the previous record of 2010 by 0.06 degrees Celsius (0.11 degrees Fahrenheit ), with every major ocean showing higher readings, including the Barents Sea in the Arctic.
