Amid the heatwave episodes creating havoc, last month was the hottest June ever recorded, according to the EU's climate monitoring service. This follows a year of consistently high temperatures, making 2024 likely to be the hottest year in history.
For the past 13 months, every month has been the warmest on record for that time of year, as reported by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). This trend suggests that 2024 could surpass 2023 as the hottest year since global temperature records started in the mid-1800s.
"I now estimate that there is approximately a 95% chance that 2024 will be the warmest year on record," said Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth.
This extreme heat has already had serious consequences in 2024. Over 1,000 people died from intense heat during the Hajj pilgrimage last month. There were also heat-related deaths in New Delhi, which experienced an unusually long heatwave, and among tourists in Greece.
Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London, said there is a 'high chance' that 2024 will be the hottest year ever recorded. Despite global promises to reduce emissions and fight global warming, countries have not succeeded in lowering emissions, causing temperatures to continue to rise.
In the 12 months leading up to June, the world's average temperature was the highest ever recorded for such a period, at 1.64 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average from 1850-1900, according to C3S.
In the United States, over 36 million people were under excessive heat warnings this weekend. The extreme temperatures led to the death of a motorcyclist in California’s Death Valley and created tough conditions for firefighters battling multiple wildfires across the state.
The Lake Fire in Santa Barbara County burned through dry vegetation, leading to evacuations, including at the Neverland Ranch, as reported by The Guardian.
The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for parts of California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Heat advisories were also in place for the East Coast and states such as Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.
Many places in the West and Pacific Northwest broke previous heat records, with Death Valley hitting 128°F (53.3°C) over the weekend. A visitor died from heat exposure, and another was hospitalized, officials said.
Rare heat advisories were extended even to higher elevations like Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border, with the weather service in Reno, Nevada, warning of “major heat risk impacts, even in the mountains.”
