World breaks record for hottest day ever for second day in a row
- Scientists said it was possible Tuesday or Wednesday of this week could surpass Monday’s record, as temperature peaks happen in clusters
![The setting sun illuminates the clouds over the Rocky Mountains. The World set a milestone for hottest day ever recorded for the second straight day. Photo: AP](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/24/48119ecf-edaa-4ff1-8d17-107777731fef_756625ca.jpg?itok=0ofticOE&v=1721821143)
The world again registered its hottest day on record on Monday, July 22, inching past Sunday which had just taken the title, according to preliminary data from a European Union monitoring agency.
As heatwaves sizzled around the world and wildfires engulfed parts of the Mediterranean, Russia and Canada, the global average surface air temperature rose to 17.15 degrees Celsius (62.87 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday. That was 0.06 degrees higher than Sunday’s record, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which has tracked such data since 1940.
This includes temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere, which is currently in winter, bringing down the worldwide average.
Scientists said it was possible that Tuesday or Wednesday of this week could again surpass Monday’s record, as temperature peaks generally happen in clusters.
The last record hot day was in July 2023, when the daily peak was broken across four consecutive days from July 3 through 6. Before that, it was set in August 2016.
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