According to data from the US space agency Nasa, July 2023 was hotter than any other month ever measured. She thus confirmed statements by the EU climate change service Copernicus. It was 0.24 degrees Celsius warmer than the warmest July in the authority’s records, which went back to 1880, said NASA, citing data from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), which belongs to it, on Monday (local time). ) with.
According to Nasa, July 2023 was 1.18 degrees Celsius warmer than the average July from 1951 to 1980. “Nasa’s data confirms what billions of people around the world literally felt: Temperatures in July 2023 made it the hottest month of all time,” said NASA CEO Bill Nelson. “The science is clear. We must act now to protect our community and our planet; it’s the only one we have.”
According to NASA, parts of South America, North Africa, North America and the Antarctic Peninsula were particularly hot. According to the data, the five hottest days in July since 1880 have all occurred in the last five years.
GISS director Gavin Schmidt explained that global warming is primarily due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions. “And this increase in average temperatures is leading to dangerous extreme heat that people are experiencing here at home and around the world.”
High sea surface temperatures therefore contributed to the record heat in July. NASA’s analysis shows particularly warm ocean temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific, evidence of the weather phenomenon known as El Niño, which has been developing since May. Phenomena such as El Niño or La Niña, which warm or cool the tropical Pacific, may account for a small portion of the year-to-year variations in global temperatures, the US space agency said. NASA expects El Niño to have its greatest impact in February, March, and April of 2024.
