July hasn’t yet concluded and already it’s set to be the hottest month ever recorded on Earth.
That’s according to at least three different organizations measuring these records in announcements out Thursday: the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the European Union–funded Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and Leipzig University in Germany.
All three say the combined temperature data for July so far and projections for continued extreme heat in the final days of the month position this July as the hottest ever — and by a wide margin.
Related: ‘The hottest I ever remember’: Phoenix scorches above 110 for a record 19th straight day
A release from Leipzig University and another from the WMO and C3S said July was about 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. That rise is pinned to man-made global warming and includes a boost to temperatures from the recurring weather phenomenon, El Niño, whose latest impact, scientists make clear, is only beginning.
Related: Here comes El Nino: It’s early, likely to be sloppy and add even more heat to a warming world
Read: Already roasting in extreme heat? 2024 could be even hotter, NASA scientists warn.
More than 100 million Americans have routinely been under heat warnings over the past few weeks. July is the hottest month of the year globally on average in any given year, but even hot spots like parts of Texas and Phoenix, Ariz., have suffered under unrelenting strings of days where the mercury has been well above 100 degrees F, and “real-feel” factors including humidity make conditions even harsher.
Phoenix, where residents are receiving third-degree burns from sidewalks and pavement, will be the first major city in the U.S. to average 100 degrees for an entire month and has seen a record 26 days (and counting) with highs above 115 degrees.
Notably, July’s global temperature gain matches the overall atmospheric warming limit that most countries have rallied around under the voluntary Paris climate accord, a pact set in motion a handful of years ago that takes aim at the man-made climate change created by the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil
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July’s result does not mean the world has passed that point permanently — overall the planet has warmed by about 1.2 degrees C (2.2 degrees F) since preindustrial times, but extremes like July, which followed a sizzling June, tell scientists that Earth is heading toward that alarming number likely without immediate and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane.
“The extreme weather which has affected many millions of people in July is unfortunately the harsh reality of climate change and a foretaste of the future,” said the WMO’s secretary-general Petteri Taalas in a press release. “The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is more urgent than ever before. Climate action is not a luxury but a must.”
July also follows the planet’s hottest June on record, making for dangerous conditions for many parts of the globe this summer.
“Climate action is not a luxury, but a must.”
‘Silent killer’
No doubt, extreme heat is harming people around the world. So far in 2023, heat waves across three continents in the Northern Hemisphere have already broken records, made many people sick and caused deaths from heat stroke, heat exhaustion, dehydration or related illnesses – and this extreme heat is likely to continue through August.
Heat waves, routinely known as a “silent killer,” are already the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. and will intensify in frequency and severity as human-caused climate change increases global temperatures. Leading public health journals and medical organizations have said climate change poses the biggest threat to public health in the coming years.
And already, because high healthcare costs already burden some U.S. families more than others, recent climate-change research has especially drilled down on heat and health.
A report from the public policy research group Center for American Progress estimates extreme heat will create $1 billion in additional healthcare-related costs in the U.S. this summer alone.
That group projects that excessive heat will prompt roughly 235,000 emergency-department visits and more than 56,000 hospital admissions for conditions related to increased body temperature across the country this summer.
Last year in Europe — during the continent’s hottest summer on record — an estimated 61,600 people died from heat-related causes, another indication that heat preparedness strategies are falling short. What’s more, last year’s extremes in parts of Europe are followed by another round of heat extremes this year.
Plus, it’s the specifics of this run of extreme heat that has observers on alert. For one, excessive nighttime temperatures — a hallmark of human-caused climate change, according to some scientists — makes the heat even more dangerous because it deprives our bodies of a chance to cool down if air conditioning is not available.
For more Americans, extreme heat is a global-warming wakeup call
But whether it’s the brutality of so many extremely hot days, even in summer, or greater attention on how it impacts, along with this summer’s wildfire smoke, those working outside or unable to afford air conditioning, Americans have stepped up their concerns when it comes to heat.
A survey in Spring 2023 by Yale University’s Program on Climate Change Communication, most Americans (72%) are at least “a little” worried about extreme heat harming their local area. And extreme heat tops the list of worries about climate impacts (e.g., droughts, flooding, water shortages).
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
Additionally, a large majority of Americans (75%) think that global warming is affecting extreme heat at least “a little,” including 42% who say global warming is affecting it “a lot.”
According to the Yale researchers, “it’s important for communicators to emphasize the connection between climate change and extreme weather events (e.g., heat waves, wildfires) and how these events directly impact people’s health, the economy and public infrastructure. Experience with climate impacts can be a powerful teacher.”
Research indicates that hot, dry days have been more likely than other extreme weather events to cause people to say they have experienced global warming.
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This story originally appeared on Marketwatch
