World registers its hottest day, again

By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital

Hello! 

It’s yet another focus on the world-breaking temperatures in today’s newsletter, but before we dive right in, please note that tomorrow’s Climate Focus will be covered by my colleague Edson Caldas, section editor for the environment page, as I endure the grim experience of moving flats in London. Please send your thoughts and prayers! 

Now that’s all covered, let’s talk all things heat as the world registered its hottest day on record on Monday, inching past the previous high recorded just 24 hours earlier on Sunday, according to preliminary data from a European Union monitoring agency. 

As heat waves sizzled around the world and wildfires engulfed parts of the Mediterranean, Russia and Canada, the global average surface air temperature rose to 17.15 degrees Celsius (62.87 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, July 22.

That was 0.06 C (0.11 F) higher than Sunday’s record according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which has tracked such data dating back to 1940. 

This includes temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere, which is currently in winter, bringing down the worldwide average.  

The last record hot day was in July 2023, when the record was broken daily between July 3 and July 6. Before that, it was set in August 2016. 

Also on my radar today:

Tourists use umbrellas to protect themselves from the strong midday sun in a park, during a heatwave in Ronda, Spain. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

News of the record-breaking temperatures come as tens of millions of Americans living in the U.S. West endured scorching temperatures on Tuesday while wind gusts and dry conditions stoked dozens of wildfires, prompting evacuations across the parched region. 

Excessive heat will blanket an area stretching from the U.S. Southwest north through Nevada and into Idaho and Montana over the next two days before milder temperatures arrive on Friday, the National Weather Service said. More than 20 million people are affected by the service’s advisories. 

The report on the record-breaking temperatures made me think of an ongoing issue I try to highlight on this newsletter – water. I spoke to Dan Forman, CEO of the U.S.-based tech firm Copper Labs, about water preservation solutions amid rising temperatures in the community of Sterling Ranch, Colorado. 

“As extreme heat and droughts intensify across the United States, communities and utilities are searching for ways to manage record demand for both power and water,” said Forman. 

“Located in a drought-prone area, Sterling Ranch offered its residents real-time data to every new home to alert them about unusual water consumption. Water rates vary for indoor and outdoor usage, so this would help promote conservation while allowing customers to use water for essential purposes,” he added. 

The heat, along with persistent windy and dry conditions, has amplified the threat of wildfires over the last few days. 

Speaking of wildfires, about 20 fires were burning throughout California, scorching more than 100,000 acres (40,470 hectares) so far, said the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Three of the fires were 98% contained as of Tuesday morning. 

The California blazes were among some 69 large, active fires burning in the West, including 24 in Oregon and 9 in Arizona, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. 

A wildfire reached the Canadian town of Jasper, Alberta on Wednesday, one of hundreds ravaging the western provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, as firefighters battled to save key facilities such as the Trans Mountain Pipeline, authorities said. 

What makes this year’s record unusual is that – unlike in 2023 and 2016 – the world in April moved out of the El Nino climate pattern, which generally amplifies global temperatures owing to warmer-than-usual waters in the Eastern Pacific. 

Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist at Leipzig University in Germany, said it was “remarkable” that the record had been breached again now with the world well into the neutral phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation. 

This points to the greater-than-ever influence of climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, in boosting global temperatures, scientists say. 

“It’s really alarming that there’s not an El Nino year and we’re seeing this,” said Joyce Kimutai, a climate scientist with Imperial College London and the Kenya Meteorological Department.  

“We’ve seen the signal come back to neutral, and almost La Nina, actually.” 

A La Nina would lead to substantial global cooling, masking some of the warming from climate change. 

“Then we would really expect the temperatures to come down,” she said. “If that is not happening, then it means there’s really something wrong happening in our planet.” 

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a task force meeting of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. REUTERS/Tita Barros

Dr. M. Sanjayan, CEO of environmental non-profit Conservation International, shares his thoughts on the extreme weather events in America and using nature for climate change mitigation: 

“We’ve all seen the headlines about Hurricane Beryl’s record-setting intensification this early in the hurricane season. This occurs against the backdrop of staggeringly hot ocean temperatures and June 2024 marking one consecutive year of the hottest monthly temperatures ever recorded in the industrial era. 

“The ocean absorbs 90% of the excess heat from our burning of fossil fuels, and we’re falling short of our goals to limit these emissions and stave off the worst effects of climate change.  

“Thus, increasingly powerful storms and other devastating climate events, while unprecedented, are not unexpected. 

“We have a good idea of what’s coming down the pike, now the question is what are we going to do to save lives and protect communities?  

“We must turn to nature as a preparedness solution because it works. Mangroves can significantly dissipate wave energy, healthy coral and oyster reefs provide a buffer for shorelines during storms, and ample vegetation can prevent erosion and devastating mudslides. 

“Moreover, these natural solutions effectively draw down the excess carbon we emit, helping to mitigate escalating climate impacts. We cannot afford to overlook nature’s potential to help us adapt to life on a rapidly warming planet. If we do, we all stand to lose.” 

Loggerhead sea turtles with satellite tracking devices attached to them before being released on a beach in the Mediterranean Sea, in Marbella, Spain. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

We’re heading into the wild in a turtle-based special in today’s spotlight as dozens of young loggerhead sea turtles were released into the wild in Spain, while the first Black Marsh Turtle hatched in Cambodia is being nurtured by conservationists before it’s set free. 

Marine biologists released dozens of young loggerhead sea turtles into the wild near Marbella in southern Spain to the delight of curious beachgoers, almost a year after a nest containing 69 eggs was discovered on a nearby beach. 

Ten of them carry GPS trackers, which will allow scientists to follow the movements of the vulnerable species for six months, before the trackers fall off as the shell grows, said Juan Manuel Gavira, a biologist at the Seville Aquarium, which took care of some of the turtles until their release. 

Beachgoers of all ages snapped pictures and listened to marine life experts talk about the loggerheads and their habits at a canopied stand. 

A baby Black Marsh Turtle, successfully hatched for the first time in Cambodia from turtles rescued from a black market, in Siem Reap province, Cambodia. REUTERS/Chantha Lach

Over in Cambodia, the first Black Marsh Turtle hatched in captivity is being carefully nurtured by conservationists until it can be released back into the wild as part of a plan to rebuild the population of the endangered reptile. 

The baby turtle hatched in late May at the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB), after its parents were rescued from the black market. 

The tiny reptile, just 6 cm (2 inches) long and weighing around 40 grams (1.4 ounce), is expected to stay in the sanctuary until it is big enough to be less vulnerable to its natural predators, ACCB country director Christel Griffioen said. 

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