Monday was the hottest day recorded on Earth, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
On July 3, the average global air temperature 2 meters above the planet’s surface reached 62.62 degrees Fahrenheit or 17.01 degrees Celsius, according to the data analyzed by the University of Maine.
Robert Rohde, of the University of California, Berkeley, said the extreme heat was the result of both climate change, as well as the El Niño weather pattern, which can cause parts of the northern U.S. and Canada to become warmer and dryer than usual.
Meanwhile, the effect can make Gulf Coast and the Southeastern U.S. wetter, according to NOAA.
He also warned that humanity should expect more scorching temperatures over the next month and a half.
“NCEP has placed Earth’s average temperature yesterday as the hottest single day thus far measured by humans,” Rohde, lead scientist at Berkeley Earth, tweeted Tuesday. “This is driven by the combination of El Niño on top of global warming, and we may well see a few even warmer days over the next 6 weeks.”
Monday’s temperatures beat the previous record set in July 2022 and August 2016 of 62.46 degrees Fahrenheit or 16.92 degrees Celsius.