June 2024 the hottest ever: it is the thirteenth record-breaking month in a row

The European average temperature for June 2024 was 1.57°C higher than the average for the period between 1991 and 2020

ROME – The month of June 2024 was warmer globally than any previous June, , , 0.67°C above the average for the period between 1991 and 2020 for the month of June and 0.14°C above the previous maximum set in June 2023.

The data was released by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which regularly publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting changes recorded globally in surface air and sea temperatures, sea ice cover and hydrological variables. Most of the findings are based on the Era5 reanalysis dataset, which uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, planes and weather stations around the world.

This is the thirteenth month in a row that is the warmest in the Era5 data record for the respective month of the year. Although unusual, a similar streak of monthly global temperature records had already verified in 2015/2016. According to Era5 data, the month exceeded the estimated June average for 1850 to 1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period, by 1.50°C, making it the twelfth consecutive month to reach or exceed the 1.5 threshold. °C. The global average temperature for the past 12 months (July 2023 – June 2024) is the highest on record, 0.76°C above average for 1991 to 2020 and 1.64°C above average pre-industrial between 1850 and 1900.

< strong>THE TEMPERATURE WAS 1.57°C ABOVE THE AVERAGE FOR THE PERIOD 1991-2020

The European average temperature for June 2024 was 1.57°C higher than the average for the period between 1991 and 2020, making the month the second warmest June in Europe . European temperatures were mostly above average in southeastern regions and Turkey, but close to or below average in western Europe, Iceland and northwestern Russia. Outside Europe, temperatures were higher than average in eastern Canada, the western United States and Mexico, Brazil, northern Siberia, the Middle East, northern Africa and western Antarctica . Temperatures were below average in the eastern equatorial Pacific, indicating the development of La Niña, but air temperatures over the ocean remained at an unusually high level in many regions.

The average sea surface temperature (Sst) for June 2024 over 60°S-60°N was 20.85°C, the highest value on record for the month. This is the fifteenth consecutive month in which the Sst was the warmest in the Era5 data record for the respective month of the year.

According to Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, “June marks the 13th consecutive month of record global temperatures and the 12th consecutive month above 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial times This is more than a statistical oddity, highlighting a major and ongoing change in our climate. Even if this specific series of extreme events ends at some point, we are destined to see new records broken as the climate continues to warm. This is inevitable, unless we stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and oceans.”