July 21 Was the Hottest Day Ever Recorded on Earth, Data Shows

The daily global average temperature reached a new record high on July 21, 2024, according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

C3S data showed that on Sunday, the global average temperature reached 17.09 degrees Celsius (approximately 62.76 degrees Fahrenheit), just barely surpassing the previous record set in July 2023. The new record high was 0.01 degree warmer than July 6, 2023, which reached 17.08 degrees Celsius.

The data reveals that this is the hottest day recorded on Earth since at least 1940, when C3S records began. 

As C3S explained, the record established prior to the ones set on July 21, 2024 and July 6, 2023 was 16.8 degrees Celsius, which broke the record in August 2016. But that record was bested 57 different times since July 2023. Those high temperatures were recorded in July and August 2023 and, so far, in June and July 2024, revealing soaring temperatures coming earlier in the year. 

“On July 21st, C3S recorded a new record for the daily global mean temperature. What is truly staggering is how large the difference is between the temperature of the last 13 months and the previous temperature records,” Carlo Buontempo, director of C3S, shared in a statement. “We are now in truly uncharted territory and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records being broken in future months and years.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Copernicus ECMWF 🌍 (@copernicusecmwf)

The climate monitoring service analyzed the data and said that the increasing daily global average temperature could be linked to higher temperatures in parts of Antarctica, which is also experiencing low sea ice cover.

While the world just broke the record for the hottest day on record, C3S has predicted that this record may quickly be broken.

“In the coming days, we are expecting the daily global average temperature to further increase and peak around 22 or 23 July 2024 and then go down, but with possible further fluctuations in the coming weeks,” the service explained.

C3S found that in the span of time in records, the hottest decade took place from 2015 to 2024. Over the past 13 months, each month has hit record monthly highs.

As Reuters reported, experts believe 2024 may again break the record for the hottest year ever recorded, which was broken in 2023.

Earlier this month, C3S confirmed that this year is on track to be the hottest on record, following 12 consecutive months of temperatures over the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold compared to pre-industrial averages, as outlined in the Paris Agreement. From June 2023 to May 2024, the global average temperature was 1.63 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial average temperatures.