July this year is set to be the hottest month on record: World Meteorological Organization

The World Meteorological Organization said on Thursday that the first three weeks of July this year have been the warmest three-week period on record and the month is on track to be the hottest July and the hottest month on record.

According to the data from the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service released, July has already seen the hottest three-week period ever recorded; the three hottest days on record; and the highest-ever ocean temperatures for this time of year.

“For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe – it is a cruel summer. For the entire planet, it is a disaster. And for scientists, it is unequivocal – humans are to blame.
All this is entirely consistent with predictions and repeated warnings. The only surprise is the speed of the change,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told journalists at UN headquarters in New York.

The data showed that the global mean surface air temperature averaged for the first 23 days of July 2023 was 16.95°C. This is well above the 16.63°C recorded for the full month of July 2019, which is currently the warmest July and warmest month on record.

The organization said it is virtually certain that the full monthly average temperature for July 2023 will exceed that of July 2019 by a significant margin, making July 2023 the warmest July and warmest month on record.

Meanwhile, Guterres said the record-shattering July temperatures show Earth has passed from a warming phase into an “era of global boiling”.

“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning. The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”

“The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”

In the face of “tragic” consequences, he repeated his call for swift and far-reaching action, taking aim once again at the fossil fuel sector.

“The air is unbreathable. The heat is unbearable. And the level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable,” said Guterres, Portugal’s former prime minister.

“Leaders must lead,” he said. “No more hesitancy. No more excuses. No more waiting for others to move first.”

The “destruction” unleashed by humanity “must not inspire despair, but action”, he said, warning that to prevent the worst outcomes humanity “must turn a year of burning heat into a year of burning ambition”.