"Even with more than a week left until the end of the month, experts are
already anticipating that the current record from July 2017 will fall."
July is on track to become Earth's hottest month on record, climate scientists say
By Denise Chow
July is on track to become the hottest month
in recorded history, climate scientists say, after heat waves blanketed
North America and the Arctic saw warmer than usual temperatures. It’s
the latest sign that the planet’s overall climate is warming, and that
human activities are causing extreme events such as heat waves to become
more likely and more intense, the scientists say.
Even
with more than a week left until the end of the month, dozens of
experts are already anticipating that the current record from July 2017
will fall.
“It's looking like there's a strong likelihood
that we will end up with the warmest month ever,” said Brian
Brettschneider, a climate researcher at the University of Alaska
Fairbanks. (In this case, "ever" means since modern record-keeping began
in 1880.)
In July 2017, when the previous
record was set, average global temperatures were 2.16 degrees Fahrenheit
higher than the 20th century average for July of 57.8 degrees
Fahrenheit, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
which collects climate data and tracks temperature records. This July
is expected to narrowly surpass the average temperatures from two years
ago, scientists who study climate patterns say.
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