Globe Experiences Hottest Day Ever

The hottest day ever recorded globally occurred on Monday, July 22, according to preliminary data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. This followed the previous hottest day ever recorded, which was the day before. Experts believe July 23 and 24 of this week might surpass Sunday and Monday’s record-breaking temperatures, Rueter reported. Last year, four consecutive days in a row broke the record—from July 3 to July 6, Rueters reported.

In the United States, July 21 also marked the fifth person to have died this month in state and national parks due to heat. The latest death occurred on Sunday in Utah, which marked another day of triple-degree temperatures in the West. The National Weather Service also has issued a heat warning for this week as triple-digit temperatures are expected across multiple western states.

More than two weeks after Beryl hit the U.S., heat-related deaths during the prolonged power outages have caused the number of storm-related fatalities to increase to nearly two dozen in Texas, the Associated Press reported. The hurricane knocked out electricity to nearly 3 million buildings, and hospitals reported a spike in heat-related illnesses in the area.

Additionally, as of July 13, 322 suspected heat-related deaths were tracked this year so far in Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to Phoenix and the fourth most-populated county in the U.S., according to its heat report dashboard. Almost 100 of those suspected heat deaths are attributed from July 7 to 13, when temperatures hit 118 degrees, NBC News reported. Nationwide, at least 73 heat-related deaths have occurred this year so far.

Sequentially, last month was the hottest June on record, which continued a 13-month streak of the hottest months reported. This puts 2024 on track to become the world’s hottest year reported, according to the EU monitoring service.