July poised to be hottest month in recorded history: Experts

Amid record-setting heat waves across the globe, July 2023 is poised to become the hottest month ever recorded, according to a report by Copernicus, the European climate change service, and the World Meteorological Organization.

So far, the first three weeks of July have been the warmest three-week period ever recorded globally, with July 6, 2023, being the hottest overall day on record, according to the report.

The previous hottest month on record was July 2019.

Though July has not concluded, other agencies, like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are expected to report similar findings in the coming weeks.

Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said in a statement, "Record-breaking temperatures are part of the trend of drastic increases in global temperatures. Anthropogenic emissions are ultimately the main driver of these rising temperatures."

Buontempo said at a news conference Thursday that "there is a higher-than-usual chance of seeing record-breaking months" over the next few months.

When asked if 2023 could become the hottest year on record, Chris Hewitt, director of Climate Services at the World Meteorological Organization, said, "We could anticipate it being a very warm year, if not a record year. We'll have to wait and see."