July 2021 officially the hottest month ever recorded on Earth

It’s official: July was the hottest month ever recorded.

According to new data released by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), global land and ocean temperatures were 1.67F (0.93 C) above the 20th-century average of 60.4F (15.8C), making it the hottest July since records began 142 years ago.

“In this case, first place is the worst place to be,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad.

“July is typically the world’s warmest month of the year, but July 2021 outdid itself as the hottest July and month ever recorded.

“This new record adds to the disturbing and disruptive path that climate change has set for the globe.”

The data comes days after the release of a report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which warned the world is running out of time to make drastic cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and avert devastating climate breakdown.

The IPCC report, compiled by more than 200 scientists, detailed how the impacts of rising temperatures could be “irreversible for centuries to millennia”.

It was the most comprehensive assessment yet from the IPCC.