July Global Temperature Reached Highest Level in 175 Years of Observations

Monthly Average Temperature Highest for 14 Consecutive Months

As summer heatwaves intensify, July of this year has been identified as the hottest month since the beginning of global weather observations.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on the 17th, the average global surface temperature last month was measured at 17.01 degrees Celsius. This is the highest temperature in NOAA's 175-year observation history and 1.21 degrees higher than the 20th-century average temperature (15.8 degrees Celsius).

NOAA also explained that the monthly average global surface temperature set a new record last month, continuing a 14-month streak of increases. The average global surface temperature from January to July this year was also analyzed to be 15.08 degrees Celsius, 1.28 degrees higher than the 20th-century average (13.8 degrees Celsius), marking the highest level since observations began.

Last month, the global glacier area was measured at 8.49 million square miles (approximately 22 million km²), which is 1.09 million square miles (about 2.82 million km²) smaller than the 1991?2020 average. The Arctic and Antarctic each shrank by 330,000 square miles (about 850,000 km²) and 760,000 square miles (about 1.97 million km²) respectively compared to the average. NOAA explained that this is the second smallest glacier area on record over 46 years of observations. The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), under NOAA, estimated a 77% probability that this year will be the hottest year on record.