July 2024: Second-hottest month globally as climate change impacts continue

Arab Weather - After completing all climate data for July 2024, it was considered the second hottest July globally in the data record, with an average surface air temperature of 16.91°C. This was 0.68°C higher than the July 1991-2020 average, and only 0.04°C lower than the previous record set in July 2023.

End of the hottest months on record in ERA5

According to ERA5 data, July was 1.48°C above the 1850–1900 July average, a pre-industrial reference period, also marking the end of a streak of 12 consecutive months at or above 1.5°C. Although July 2024 was not quite as warm as July 2023 on average, Earth experienced its two warmest days in the ERA5 data record. The daily global average temperature was 17.16°C and 17.15°C on July 22 and 23. Due to the small difference, similar to the uncertainty level in the ERA5 data, it is not possible to say with certainty which of the two days was the warmest.

Significant changes in global sea surface temperatures

For July 2024 sea surface temperatures, they were 20.88°C, the second highest value on record for the month, and just 0.01°C lower than July 2023. This marks the end of a 15-month period in which the sea surface temperature was the warmest in the ERA5 data record for the given month.

Variations in humidity and precipitation around the world

For hydrological variables, July 2024 was wetter than average in northern Europe, including most of Finland, the Baltic states, areas around the North Sea such as Denmark, the Netherlands, northern France and England, as well as Turkey in the southeast.

However, other areas saw drier than average conditions. The month was slightly dry in Ireland, Scotland, most of Iceland and the Iberian Peninsula, and very dry across a wide area stretching from western Russia southwards including the Balkans and the Italian Peninsula. Dry conditions were also observed in northwestern America, eastern Russia, southern South America and southern Africa including Madagascar.

Antarctic sea ice extent falls to second lowest level

In contrast, the average Antarctic sea ice extent in July 2024 was 11% below the 1991-2020 July average. This was the second-lowest July sea ice extent in the 46-year satellite dataset, after the record of -15% in July 2023.

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