- Last month was the hottest June on record
- Thirteenth month in a row that was warmest for the respective month of the year
- Call to stop adding greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
June 2024 was warmer globally than any previous June in the data record, beating the previous high set last year, new figures have revealed.
In June, the average surface air temperature was 16.66°C, 0.67°C above the 1991-2020 average for June and 0.14°C above the previous high set last year, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
This was the 13th month in a row that is the warmest in the ERA5 data record for the respective month of the year. But while the temperature figures are unusual, a similar streak of monthly global temperature records happened previously in 2015/2016, Copernicus note.
According to Copernicus’ data, the month was 1.50°C above the estimated June average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period, making it the twelfth consecutive month to reach or break the 1.5°C threshold. The 1.5°C threshold is significant as that is what countries around the world have agreed to try and limit global warming to in the Paris Agreement signed in 2015.
The global average temperature for July 2023 – June 2024 is the highest on record, at 0.76°C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.64°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average.
The average European temperature for June 2024 was 1.57°C above the 1991-2020 average for June, making the month the joint-second warmest June on record for Europe.
Outside Europe, temperatures were most above average over eastern Canada, the western United States and Mexico, Brazil, northern Siberia, the Middle East, northern Africa and western Antarctica.
Temperatures were below average over the eastern equatorial Pacific, indicating a developing La Niña, but air temperatures over the ocean remained at an unusually high level over many regions.
“June marks the 13th consecutive month of record-breaking global temperatures, and the 12th in a row above 1.5°C with respect to pre-industrial,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. “This is more than a statistical oddity and it highlights a large and continuing shift in our climate. Even if this specific streak of extremes ends at some point, we are bound to see new records being broken as the climate continues to warm. This is inevitable, unless we stop adding GHG [greenhouse gases] into the atmosphere and the oceans. “
