If you found yourself yearning for a pool or cold beverage this summer, it wasn’t without cause, as scientists are pointing to data that shows we just lived through the hottest summer on record.
According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Services, June to August was the Earth’s warmest period since records began in 1940.
The record should be no surprise for the majority of the planet, as heat wave after heat wave hit all around the globe.
According to Copernicus, the average global temperature from June to August was 62.19 degrees Fahrenheit, or 16.77 degrees Celsius. That number is 0.66 degrees Celsius above the average temperature from 1990 to 2020.
The previous record for heat was set in August 2019, and this summer’s heat beat it by nearly 0.3 degrees Celsius.
June, July, and August all set new records for heat, breaking records by large margins. According to Copernicus, July and August were estimated to have been 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels.
António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, released a statement following the Copernicus data. Guterres shared that the rise in temps is a result of fossil fuel use.
“The dog days of summer are not just barking. They are biting,” Guterres said. “Scientists have long warned what our fossil fuel addiction will unleash. Our climate is imploding faster than we can cope with extreme weather events hitting every corner of the planet.”
But Guterres isn’t alone in his warning, as the secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas, shared that the extreme weather that comes from higher temperatures is going to be just as devastating as it was this past summer.
“The Northern Hemisphere just had a summer of extremes – with repeated heatwaves fueling devastating wildfires, harming health, disrupting daily lives, and wreaking a lasting toll on the environment,” Taalas said in a statement.
It remains to be seen whether or not this year will mark the hottest year on record, though scientists have warned that it’s still on the table.
The WMO warned that there is “a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record,” citing data from the U.K.’s Met Office weather agency.