June 2019 the hottest on record

Buoyed by historic heatwaves in Europe and warmer conditions in the Arctic and Eurasia, June 2019 was the hottest on record.

According to data released by NASA and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), Earth soared to its highest level recorded in June. Records stretch back almost 140 years.

“The record warm streaks we’ve seen in recent years simply cannot be explained without accounting for the profound impact we are having on the planet through the burning of fossil fuels and the resulting increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations,” says climate scientist Michael Mann.

According to NASA, the global average temperature was 0.93°C above the June norm (based on a 1951–1980 baseline), breaking the previous June record of 0.82°C above the average, set in 2016.

Heatwaves were experienced throughout Europe. In France, 13 locations experienced their highest temperatures on record. The peak was 45.9°C set in Gallargues-le-Montueux, a staggering 3.2°C above the old mark.

In fact, the June trend concluded the planet’s second hottest January-to-June ever recorded.

“Our data shows that the temperatures over the southwestern region of Europe during the last week of June were unusually high,” says head of C3S Jean-Noel Thepaut. “Although this was exceptional, we are likely to see more of these events in the future due to climate change.”

Australia, too, has had an unusually warm start to 2019.

“It has been the second-warmest January–June on record for Australia (spanning 110 years), with rainfall also ‘below’ to ‘very much below’ average over most of the country, and seventh-lowest for Australia as a whole,” reports the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

Some experts are predicting July could be the hottest month ever recorded.

“Stay tuned for July numbers,” Mann wrote on Twitter. “July is the warmest month of the year globally. If this July turns out to be the warmest July (it has a good shot at it), it will be the warmest month we have measured on Earth.”