July marks second-hottest month on record worldwide: EU climate agency
China DailyXinhua | Updated: 2024-08-08 10:53 A cyclist cools off at a fountain at Madrid Rio park during the heatwave in Madrid, Spain, July 25, 2024. BRUSSELS - July 2024 is the second-warmest month worldwide in the data record, trailing slightly behind July 2023, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service reported on Thursday. The average surface air temperature of July was 16.91 degrees Celsius, 0.04 degrees Celsius lower than a year ago, marking the end of a 13-month period where each month was the hottest on record for that time of year, according to a report released by Copernicus. Although July 2024 has narrowly fallen short of becoming the hottest month, the Earth still experienced two warmest days on record on July 22 and 23, with the global average temperature reaching 17.16 degrees Celsius and 17.15 degrees Celsius, the report said. For 2024 not to surpass 2023 as the warmest year, the average anomaly for the remaining months would need to decrease by at least 0.23 degrees Celsius.