Hottest Day on Record Sparks Global Concern
Last Sunday marked a historic moment as it became the hottest day ever recorded worldwide since 1940, according to climate scientists. The global average surface air temperature on July 21 soared to 17.09C, surpassing the previous record of 17.08C set on July 6, 2023. The Copernicus Climate Change Service, the EU’s climate monitor, declared, “The Earth has just experienced its warmest day.”
Director of the service, Carlo Buontempo, expressed concern, stating, “We are now in truly uncharted territory as the climate continues to warm. We are likely to witness new records being shattered in the coming months and years.”
Despite this global heatwave, meteorologist Abdulaziz Al-Hussaini reassured that temperatures in Saudi Arabia remained within the normal annual range. He noted, “Observers of Saudi weather patterns have not observed anything unusual, unlike countries such as Japan where record-breaking temperatures have been reported. Surprisingly, June was even hotter than July so far.”
Another weather expert, Walid Al-Haqeel, pointed out that while both June and July experienced elevated temperatures worldwide, July saw a significant increase in high-temperature days. Comparing to previous years, he highlighted, “Years 2022 and 2023 exhibited similar heat patterns, but this year saw more hot days, particularly in regions like southern Europe, parts of America, the Middle East, Turkey, Bosnia, and Azerbaijan.”