Summer 2024 Officially Hottest on Record, Pushing 2024 Towards Record-Breaking Year

Summer 2024 has officially been declared the hottest summer on record, according to the European climate service Copernicus, making it even more likely that 2024 will end up as the warmest year on record, The Associated Press reports.

The northern meteorological summer, encompassing June, July, and August, averaged 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 degrees Fahrenheit), surpassing the previous record set in 2023 by a mere 0.03 degrees Celsius (0.05 degrees Fahrenheit).

While Copernicus records date back to 1940, other global records, starting in the mid-19th century, show that the last decade has been the hottest since regular measurements were taken and likely in about 120,000 years.

August 2024 tied with August 2023 for the hottest Augusts on record, while July 2024, while not a record-breaker, was still exceptionally warm.

Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo explained that June 2024 was significantly hotter than June 2023, making the summer as a whole the hottest on record. He also noted that the high temperatures have resulted in record high dew points, creating a particularly uncomfortable and potentially dangerous level of humidity across much of the globe.

While a portion of last year’s record heat was attributed to El Niño, a temporary natural warming of parts of the central Pacific, that effect has dissipated, indicating that the primary driver of the increasing temperatures is long-term human-caused climate change from the burning of fossil fuels.

Buontempo is now “pretty certain” that 2024 will surpass last year’s record for the hottest year on record, despite a forecasted La Niña, a natural cooling event, expected in the coming months.

“This all translates to more misery around the world as places like Phoenix start to feel like a barbecue locked on high for longer and longer stretches of the year,” said Jonathan Overpeck, University of Michigan environment dean and climate scientist.

Phoenix has already experienced over 100 days of temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit this year.

Overpeck warned that the prolonged heatwaves will contribute to more severe droughts in some regions and more intense rainfall and flooding in others.

“Climate change is becoming too obvious, and too costly, to ignore,” he stressed.