Sky News, 24 July 2024

The world’s average surface air temperature reached 17.15C on Monday, inching past the new record that had just been set on Sunday of 17.09C.

‘Truly staggering’: World breaks hottest day record for second day in a row

Monday was the hottest day on record following a record-breaking Sunday, according to preliminary data from the European Union’s monitoring agency.

The world’s average surface air temperature reached 17.15C (62.87F) on Monday, inching past the new record that had just been set on Sunday of 17.09C – a difference of 0.06C.

The preliminary data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service makes Monday the hottest day on record since 1940.

The record hot days come in a period when millions of people around the world sweltered in heatwaves in Japan, China, the United States and “hellishly hot” southern Europe, where temperatures soared to 44C (111.2F) in Spain.

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