According to a study by Copernicus, a European Commission program that studies climate and environmental change, June was the warmest on record globally, far surpassing the record set in 2019.
“June was the hottest month globally, just over 0.5 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, well above the previous record set in June 2019,” data from the observatory said.
Temperatures broke records in northwestern Europe, while parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Asia and eastern Australia were “significantly warmer than normal,” Copernicus notes.
On the other hand, it was colder than usual in Western Australia, Western United States and Western Russia.
For 15 years, the month of June has been consistently above the averages of the reference period 1991-2020, but “June 2023 is far above the others, it is the kind of anomaly that we are not used to”, explains Agence France Presse. the scientist Julien Nicolas.
The average global temperature in June was 16.51 degrees Celsius, 0.53 degrees above the average of the previous three decades. The previous record, in June 2019, was 0.37 degrees.
“The June 2023 record is largely due to very high ocean surface temperatures,” which represent 70% of the Earth’s surface, “explains the scientist.
Temperatures in the Pacific Ocean had reached record highs in May due to the onset of the El Niño weather phenomenon.
In June, the North Atlantic was hit by marine heat waves “that surprised many people by reaching truly unprecedented levels,” the expert said.
“Extreme marine heat waves” were measured in the Baltic Sea, but also around Ireland and Great Britain, which already confirmed their record month of June a few days ago.
The trend continues in July: Tuesday was the warmest day on record globally, according to preliminary data from the University of Maine in the United States. And Wednesday matched these values.
Scientists have been warning for months that 2023 could see record heat as human-induced climate change, largely driven by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil, warms the atmosphere.
These observations are likely an anticipation of what is to come with the so-called El Niño phenomenon – generally associated with a rise in global temperatures – supplemented by the effects of climate warming caused by human activity.
Source: DN
