Extreme heat hit hundreds of millions of people throughout July, with a domino effect felt right across society. July was one of the hottest - if not the hottest - month on modern record, and the world’s hottest day was registered – yet another unwelcome indication of the extent that greenhouse gases from human activities are changing our climate.

Global average temperatures for at least 13 consecutive months set new monthly records.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, July 2024 was the warmest July on record for the globe in NOAA's 175-year record and 0.03°C (0.05°F) warmer than July 2023 and "more likely than not the warmest month on record for the globe since 1850."

July 2024 was the second warmest month globally and the second warmest July in the ERA5 data record of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. It was just0.04°C lower than the previous high set in July 2023.

The differences between the datasets are so minor that they are within the statistical margin of error used to calculate global temperatures. WMO combines six international datasets for its climate monitoring, including ERA5 and NOAAGlobalTemp.

The prolonged and intense heat underlinesunderlines the urgency of the Call to Action on Extreme Heatissued by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who said that “Earth is becoming hotter and more dangerous for everyone, everywhere.”

“Widespread, intense and extended heatwaves have hit every continent in the past year. At least ten countries have recorded daily temperatures of more than 50° C in more than one location. This is becoming too hot to handle,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

“Death Valley in California registered a record average monthly temperature of 42.5 °C(108.5 °F) – possibly a new record observed for anywhere in the world. Even the remote frozen ice sheets of Antarctica have been feeling the heat,” she said.

“The WMO community is committed to responding to the UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action with better heat-health early warnings and action plans. Recent estimates produced by WMO and the World Health Organization indicate that the global scale-up of heat health-warning systems for 57 countries alone has the potential to save an estimated 98,000 lives per year. This is one of the priorities of the Early Warnings For All initiative,” said Celeste Saulo.

“Climate adaptation alone is not enough. We need to tackle the root cause and get serious about reducing record levels of greenhouse gas emissions ,” said Celeste Saulo.

Editor: JIANG Zhiqing