Opinion: Sam Champion: The Hottest Day Ever Reveals the Burning Truth of Climate Change
Sunday saw the hottest day on Earth ever recorded—the average surface air temperature hit 17.09C (62.76F), according to preliminary data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
“What is truly staggering is how large the difference is between the temperature of the last 13 months and the previous temperature records,” Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo told the Guardian. “We are now in truly uncharted territory—and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records being broken in future months and years.”
Buontempo is right. We’ve gotten off to an unusually hot start to the summer in the United States, and July numbers from around the globe are alarming. No matter where you look on the globe—here, the African continent, China, Europe, the Caribbean—those hotter temperatures are all replicated.