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Earth’s temperature was off the charts last month as an extreme heat wave scorched the Southern US and Mexico and ocean warmth soared to alarming levels, a new report shows.
The analysis from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service found that last month was the planet’s hottest June by a “substantial margin” above the previous record, which was set in 2019.
Nine of the 10 hottest Junes have occurred in the last 10 years, according to the agency – evidence the human-caused climate crisis is driving temperatures to unprecedented levels.
Copernicus also found that ocean surface temperatures were the warmest on record for June, driven mainly by exceptional warmth in the North Atlantic and a strengthening El Niño in the Pacific.
The analysis came as data from global climate agencies suggested that the planet saw its hottest day on record earlier this week — first on Monday and then again on Tuesday.
“This is alarming,” Jennifer Marlon, a climate scientist at the Yale School of Environment who was not involved with the analysis, told CNN. “It’s hard to imagine what summers will be like for our children and grandchildren in the next 20 years. This is exactly what global warming looks like.
