June 2023: Hottest month ever recorded on Earth

Global temperature maps show rising temperatures as Earth's oceans absorbed a record amount of heat from the atmosphere last year, according to a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Additionally, June 2023 averaged 61.7 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the warmest month on record since records began in 1979. But Earth appears to be on track to break that record this month, as average atmospheric temperatures on July 4th and July 5th. It broke the previous record and reached 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit.

The average ocean temperature measured between 60°N and 60°S latitude was 69.4°F. Scientists who study the relationship between the ocean and the atmosphere are concerned about the long-term impact of rising ocean temperatures, including changes in the migratory patterns of marine life, increased ocean acidity, and the destruction of coral reefs, mangroves, and wetlands that act barriers against storms and sea level rise.

"This is an extremely rare event that we're living through right now, in terms of global temperatures in the ocean," said Benjamin Kirtman, director of the Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami. "There are a number of different factors that may be contributing to that, but we don't know for sure exactly what's going on."

Experts at the Copernicus Climate Change Service, who work under the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, attribute the record temperatures to the build-up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted by human activities, along with the influence of the powerful El Niño weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean. These factors and global warming have led to an unprecedented increase in temperature around the world.

MG