Earth's average July temperature virtually guarantees 2025 will rank among the planet's top five warmest years on record. The first seven-month period of this year is the second-warmest such period in the NOAA's record dating back to 1850.
The global surface temperature in July was 1.8 degrees higher than the 20th-century average, making it the third-warmest July since records began 175 years ago. It was the 49th consecutive July with above-average global temperatures. The only other years that had a warmer July were 2023 and 2024.
The July global climate report from the NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information calculates a 99.9% chance that 2025 will rank among the top five warmest years on record.
The first eight warm months of this year come after back-to-back record-breaking years for our planet. Researchers with nonprofit Climate Central report carbon pollution soared to its highest level ever in 2024, Earth's warmest year on record. The global surface temperature in 2024 was 2.77 degrees higher than the early industrial (1881-1920) baseline average, surpassing the previous record set in 2023. That means the most recent 11 years are the hottest 11 years since global records began.
Some of the other "Selected Significant Climate Anomalies and Events" mentioned in the July global climate report include the fourth-lowest Arctic sea ice extent on record for the month. The third-warmest global ocean surface temperature contributed to an above-average month for named global tropical cyclones, with 14 reported in July.
Japan's hottest day on record occurred during a historic heat wave that struck late in the month, when the high hit 106 degrees in Tamba, Hyōgo Prefecture (Central Japan) on July 30. For the second summer in a row, Greece was forced to shut down popular tourist sites because of extreme heat. Some spots climbed to as hot as 104 degrees.
There were 217 all-time heat records set around the world in July, but no all-time cold records, according to YALE Climate Connections. Those records included 122 degrees in Tabas, Iran, 119 degrees in Chilas, Pakistan, 111 degrees in Sanxia, China, and 101 degrees in Ulchin, South Korea.
Heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere are amping up extreme weather, intensifying and fueling more extreme weather events.
A deadly heat wave in Europe that started in late June and spilled over into early July helped boost the planet's overall surface temperature for both months. A study conducted by scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London concluded 65% of the deaths from the 10-day stretch of scorching heat were due to "anthropogenic climate change."
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