More record-breaking temperatures in June: WMO

World Meteorological Organization – The average global temperature has been 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era for 12 successive months, according to new data issued by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (CCCS).

It was the hottest June on record for the globe and the 13th month in a row to set a monthly temperature record. While unusual, a similar streak of monthly global temperature records happened previously in 2015-16.

According to CCCS data, the month was 1.5 C above the estimated June average for 1850 to 1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period. This is the 12th consecutive month to reach or break the 1.5 C threshold.

The global-average temperature for the past 12-month period (July 2023 to June 2024) is 1.64 C above the 1850 to 1900 pre-industrial average, according to the CCCS.

The sea surface temperature (SST) averaged for June 2024 from 60 degrees South to 60 degrees North latitude was 20.85 C, the highest value on record for the month. This is the 15th month in a row that the SST has been the warmest for June.

“These latest figures from the CCCS unfortunately highlight that we will be exceeding the 1.5 C level on a temporary basis with increasing frequency, on a monthly basis. However, it is important to stress that temporary breaches do not mean that the 1.5 C goal is permanently lost because this refers to long-term warming over at least two decades,” said World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries agreed to keep long-term global average surface temperature well below 2 C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 C by the end of this century. The scientific community has repeatedly warned that warming of more than 1.5 C risks unleashing far more severe climate change impacts and extreme weather and every fraction of a degree of warming matters.

Even at current levels of global warming, there are already devastating climate impacts. These include more extreme heatwaves, extreme rainfall events and droughts; reductions in ice sheets, sea ice, and glaciers; accelerating sea level rise and ocean heating.

“June witnessed widespread and prolonged heatwaves in many countries, with major impacts on all aspects of people’s life. This was even before the traditional peak of the northern hemisphere summer, which will undoubtedly see more extreme heat. The record sea surface temperatures are of great concern to vital marine ecosystems and they also provide energy to super-charge tropical cyclones – as we saw with Hurricane Beryl,” Saulo said.

“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 greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and the oceans,” said CCCS director Carlo Buontempo.

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. In June 2024, it was wetter than average over parts of North America, with a series of storms, including exceptional Hurricane Beryl.

Drier-than-average conditions were seen across North America, several regions of Asia and most of South America.