June was the hottest month on record

MEXICO CITY (apro).- This June has been the hottest on record and the past 12 months have averaged the highest temperatures reported since pre-industrial times, according to figures published in the monthly bulletin of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

June 2024 averaged a surface temperature of 16.66°C, 1.50°C above the pre-industrial average (1850-1900); 0.67°C above the 1991-2020 average and 0.14°C above the previous maximum for that month, which was recorded in 2023.

June was the 13th warmest consecutive month on record, and the 12th consecutive month to reach or exceed the 1.5°C threshold for global average surface temperature.

According to the scientific community, a temperature increase of more than 1.5°C could trigger climate change impacts and severe extreme weather conditions. Under the Paris Agreement, signatory countries agreed to keep the long-term average global surface temperature below 2°C, compared to pre-industrial levels, and to try to limit it to 1.5°C by the end of this century.

Copernicus also noted that the global average temperature over the past 12 months has been the highest on record, at 0.76°C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.64°C above the pre-industrial average.

According to the European agency, these temperatures are unusual, but the period 2015-2016 saw a similar streak of monthly global temperature records.

Temperatures were above average in Brazil, Mexico and parts of Canada and the United States, as were air temperatures over the ocean, which “remained at an unusually high level in many regions,” Copernicus said.

On the other hand, in the eastern equatorial Pacific temperatures were below average, according to experts, indicating that the “La Niña” phenomenon was developing. Precisely, this June was the wettest in the north, south and center of North America. From June to July, three important meteorological phenomena occurred in that region: “Alberto”, “Chris” and “Beryl”.

“Beryl” went from a tropical storm to a hurricane in just 42 hours and was the first of the season. Within a few days it was already a Category 4 hurricane and devastated the Antilles before reaching the Mexican Caribbean, where it was downgraded, and then went up a category again on its way to Texas and was downgraded once again.