The planet鈥檚 temperature spiked on Tuesday to its hottest day in at least 44 years and likely much longer, and Wednesday could become the third straight day Earth unofficially marks a record-breaking high, the latest in a series of extremes that alarm but don鈥檛 surprise scientists.
The globe鈥檚 average temperature reached 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit (17.18 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday, according to the University of Maine鈥檚 , a common tool based on satellite data and computer simulations and used by climate scientists for a glimpse of the world鈥檚 condition. On Monday, the average temperature was 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit (17.01 degrees Celsius), breaking a record that lasted only 24 hours.
While it is not an official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration record, 鈥渢his is showing us an indication of where we are right now,鈥� NOAA chief scientist Sarah Kapnick said. Even though the dataset used for the unofficial record goes back only to 1979, she said that given other data, it鈥檚 likely the hottest day in 鈥渟everal hundred years that we鈥檝e experienced.鈥�
The previous hottest day was in August 2021, Kapnick said.
鈥淎 record like this is another piece of evidence for the now massively supported proposition that is pushing us into a hotter future,鈥� said Stanford University climate scientist Chris Field, who was not part of the calculations.
With many places seeing temperatures near 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius), the new average temperatures might not seem . But Tuesday鈥檚 global high was nearly 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (a full degree Celsius) higher than the 1979-2000 average, which already tops the 20th- and 19th-century averages.
Higher temperatures translate into brutal conditions for people all over the world. When , humans suffer health effects 鈥� especially young and elderly people, who are vulnerable to heat even under normal conditions.
鈥淧eople aren鈥檛 used to that. Their bodies aren鈥檛 used to that,鈥� said Erinanne Saffell, Arizona鈥檚 state climatologist and an expert in extreme weather and climate events. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 important to understand who might be at risk, making sure people are hydrated, they鈥檙e staying cool, and they鈥檙e not exerting themselves outside, and taking care of those folks around you who might be at risk.鈥�
The highs come after months of 鈥渢ruly unreal meteorology and climate stats for the year,鈥� such as in the North Atlantic, and a , said University of Oklahoma meteorology professor Jason Furtado.
Scientists generally use much longer measurements 鈥� months, years, decades 鈥� to track the Earth鈥檚 warming. But the new figures are an indication that climate change is reaching uncharted territory, even if the data aren鈥檛 quite the type used by gold-standard climate measurement entities such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
The figures legitimately capture global-scale heating, and NOAA will take them into consideration for its official record calculations, said Deke Arndt, director of the National Center for Environmental Information, a division of NOAA.
High-temperature records were surpassed this week in Quebec and Peru. Beijing reported nine straight days last week when the temperature exceeded 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit). Cities across the U.S. from Medford, Oregon to Tampa, Florida have been hovering at all-time highs, said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Wednesday may bring another unofficial record, with the Climate Reanalyzer again forecasting record or near-record heat. Antarctica鈥檚 average forecast for Wednesday is a whopping 4.5 degrees Celsius (8.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the 1979-2000 average.
In the U.S., heat advisories are in effect this week for more than 30 million people in places including portions of western Oregon, inland far northern California, central New Mexico, Texas, Florida and the coastal Carolinas, according to Excessive heat warnings are continuing across southern Arizona and California.
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