The Earth just saw its hottest day on record

A woman tries to cool off with a fan that spray water to refresh people during a hot day in New York

It's looking likely that this year will beat 2023 as the hottest on record

(Image credit: Selcuk Acar / Anadolu via Getty Images)

published 24 July 2024

What happened

Sunday, July 21, was the hottest day in recorded global history, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (CCCS), Europe's top climate-monitoring organization, which announced the preliminary findings on Tuesday.

Earth's average temperature on July 21 was 62.76 degrees Fahrenheit, "breaking a record set only last year," The Washington Post said. "We are in truly uncharted territory," CCCS head Carlo Buontempo said. "We are bound to see records being broken in future months and years."

Extreme heat is "nothing new," USA Today said. Our planet has seen "over 550 consecutive months with temperatures above the 20th-century average."

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.