Not Simply a Hot Day? The world sets a record-high temperature on July 3

The U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction said that July 4 – Monday, July 3, was the warmest day ever observed on Earth.

As heatwaves sweltered around the globe, the average worldwide temperature rose to 17.01 degrees Celsius (62.62 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking the previous record of 16.92C (62.46F) set in August 2016.

Over the last several weeks, an extreme heat dome has plagued the southern United States. A persistent heat wave with temperatures exceeding 35C (95F) persisted in China. Temperatures in North Africa have been about 50 C (122 F).

Even Antarctica, which is presently experiencing winter, had unusually high temperatures. Recently, the Argentine Islands of the white continent’s Vernadsky Research Base in Ukraine surpassed its July temperature record with 8.7C (47.6F).

Friederike Otto, a climate scientist from Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment in the United Kingdom, said: “This is not a milestone we should be celebrating.”

“It’s the end of the line for both ecosystems and people.”

A developing El Nino cycle and climate change, according to scientists, are to blame.

Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth, said in a statement that “unfortunately, it promises to only be the first in a series of new records set this year as increasing emissions of [carbon dioxide] and greenhouse gases coupled with a growing El Nino event push temperatures to new highs.”