A European climate monitoring organization says July 2023 was Earth’s hottest month on record by a wide margin. Tuesday's calculations were made by Copernicus Climate Change Service, a division of the European Union’s space program.
The group’s data shows July’s global average temperature of about 63 degrees Fahrenheit was higher than the previous record set in 2019. Normally global temperature records are broken by hundredths or a tenth of a degree, so this margin is unusual.
The United States is now at a record 15 different weather disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damage this year. That’s according to data released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The United States had only its 11th hottest July in its 129-year record, according to NOAA. But Arizona, Florida, Maine and New Mexico had their warmest. Arizona broke its record by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit.