NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) reported on July 12 that June 2024 was the hottest June in global history since 1850, and the 13th consecutive hottest month in Earth's history. The range of high temperatures was unusually wide, with 14.5% of the global surface experiencing record high temperatures, 7.4% higher than the record set in June 2023.
NASA puts June temperatures at 1.44 degrees Celsius (2.59 °F) higher than during the 1880-1899 period, its best estimate of when pre-industrial temperatures last occurred. This is an impressive 0.13 degrees Celsius (0.23 °F) higher than the previous June record (2023).
The European Copernicus Climate Change Service also rated June 2024 as the hottest June on record, saying the global average temperature in the past 12 months (July 2023 to June 2024) was the highest in any 12 months The highest level on record during September was 1.64 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average of 1850-1900.
According to NOAA data, land areas will have the warmest June on record in 2024, and global ocean temperatures have reached the highest level on record for 15 consecutive months. Recent record-breaking ocean temperatures have triggered a global coral bleaching event, the fourth on record (1998, 2010, 2014-17 and now 2024).
It was the warmest June on record in Africa, Asia and South America, with Europe ranking second, North America fourth and Oceania 25th. The main Atlantic hurricane development area ushered in the hottest June on record, which was 0.08 degrees Celsius higher than the record June in 2023.
As we documented in our previous article, the continental United States had its second-warmest June, trailing only June 2021. The hottest June on record. So far in 2024, the total number of weather disasters in the United States causing $1 billion in damage is 15. The record is 28, set in 2023.
Satellite-measured temperatures in Earth's lower atmosphere in June were the warmest on record for that month.
Global surface temperatures from January to June were the warmest in NOAA's 175-year record. According to NOAA/NCEI statistical analysis, there is a 59% chance that 2024 will be the hottest year on record and a 100% chance of entering the top five. However, global temperatures have dropped slightly in recent weeks compared with July 2023, and climate scientist Zeke Hausfather predicts that July 2024 will be the first month since June 2023 not to set a new monthly global temperature record (See tweet below). This cooling is expected to occur as El Niño disappears.
Neutral ENSO conditions expected to transition to La Niña this fall
The 2023-24 Eastern Pacific El Niño event ended in May and neutral conditions have now developed, NOAA reported in its latest monthly El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) status discussion. La Niña conditions are still expected to prevail in 2024-25, but so far the pace of development has been slower than expected, slightly weakening the odds in the latest forecast.
According to NOAA's official probability forecast released on July 11 (based on expert judgment based on observations and model data), the probability of La Niña conditions in August, September and October is currently 70%, slightly lower than in 2009 75% probability. La Niña conditions are expected to continue into the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2024-2025, with a 79% chance of a La Niña event from November to January, again slightly lower than the 85% forecast previously.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Columbia University's International Institute for Climate and Society publish a separate joint outlook late each month based entirely on model simulations that takes a less optimistic view of La Niña. For the climate peak of the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season (August-September-October), the NOAA/IRI mid-June forecast said that the probability of La Niña is 44% and the probability of ENSO neutral is 51%. There is only a 5% chance of El Niño. A month ago, those numbers were 49%, 44% and 7% respectively.
El Niño tends to suppress Atlantic hurricane activity by increasing wind shear, but La Niña tends to have the opposite effect.
Arctic sea ice: June extent 12th lowest on record
According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Arctic sea ice extent in June 2024 was the 12th lowest in the 46-year satellite record. The Arctic experienced its seventh hottest June on record. June Antarctic sea ice extent was the second-lowest on record, well below all other years except 2023.
Noteworthy heat and cold markers around the world in June 2024
The following information was provided by Maximiliano Herrera. Follow him on Twitter @extremetemps:
- Hottest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: 53.1°C (127.6°F) in Jahra, Kuwait on June 23;
- Coldest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: June 2, Summit, Greenland, -33.9°C (-29.0°F);
- Hottest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: 38.9°C (102.0°F) in Carolina, Brazil, on June 29; and
- Coldest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: June 28, Concordia, Antarctica, -79.6°C (-111.3°F).
Major weather stations in June: 26 all-time high temperature records, 1 all-time cold record
Of the global stations with records dating back at least 40 years, 26 stations set all-time high temperature records in June, not just a tie; one station set an all-time cold record:
Koror (Palau) 35.6°C, June 2: Palau hits national record;
Assuan (Egypt) 50.9°C, June 7: Egypt’s new national record;
Empalme (Mexico) 47.6°C, June 12;
Fenyang (China) 40.2°C, June 12;
Wen County (China) 43.4°C, June 13;
Yanshan (China) maximum 41.4°C, June 13;
Wudi (China) 41.6°C, June 13;
Leling (China) 41.2°C, June 13;
Qingyun (China) Maximum 41.1°C, June 13;
Yang Xing (China) 41.0°C, June 13;
Binzhou (China) 41.0°C, June 13;
Lijin (China) is the largest. 40.7°C, June 13;
Houma (China) maximum 42.1°C, June 13;
Park (China) 41.8°C, June 13;
Qxo (China) maximum 41.7°C, June 13;
Xiangfen (China) 41.0°C, June 13;
Jincheng (China) maximum 39.0°C, June 13;
Jiaokou (China) is the largest. 35.5 June 13
Milos Airport (Greece) 44.0°C, June 13;
Mecca (Saudi Arabia) 51.8°C, June 17;
Hidalgo del Parral (Mexico) 42.0°C, June 17;
Chihuahua (Mexico) is the largest. 43.1°C, June 17;
Bathurst (Canada) 37.6°C, June 19;
Saint John (Canada) 35.1°C, June 20;
Smithton (Australia) had a minimum of -4.5°C on June 20;
Verhnjaja Gutara (Russia) 36.5°C, June 30; and
Pirovskoe (Russia) June 30, 35.4°C.
As of the end of June, 14 historical national/regional heat records have been broken or tied
Cocos Islands (Australia): 32.8°C (91.0°F), February 28, February 29, April 7 (tie);
costa rica: March 6, Cerro Huacalito, 41.0°C (105.8°F); March 23, ruptured again at the same location, at 41.5°C;
Comoros: Hahaya Airport 36.2°C (97.2°F) in March 12;
Congo Brazzaville: March 13, Impfondo, 39.6°C (103.3°F);
Maldives: March 24, Hanimadhoo, 35.1°C (95.2°F); tied on April 11 at the same location;
Togo: March 31, Mango, 44.0°C (111.2°F);
Mali: April 3, Keyes, 48.5°C (119.3°F);
Belize: April 10, Barton Creek, 42.3°C (108.1°F); May 17, flat at Chaa Creek;
Chad: April 24, Faia, 48.0°C (118.4°F); tied on June 5 at the same location;
Cambodia: April 27, Preah Viehar and Svay Leu, 42.8°C (109.0°F);
Laos: May 1, Tha Ngon, 43.7°C (110.7°F); (3RD The previous historical record was broken in 2024);
Ghana: May 1, Navrongo, 44.6°C (112.3°F); and
Palau: Babel Tuap International Airport 35.0°C (95.0°F) May 29 Airport (tied); again defeated (Palau) for largest. The temperature in Koror on June 2 was 35.6°C; and
Egypt: June 7, Assuan, 50.9°C (123.6°F).
As of the end of June, monthly high temperature records in 129 more countries have been broken or tied.
In addition to the 14 national all-time records set so far in 2024 (plus five countries that have tied or broken all-time records in multiple months), 129 countries or territories have set or tied all-time monthly high temperature records: as of 2024 In June 2018, there were 148 such records:
- January (15): Mayotte, Dominica, Saba, Cocos Islands, Malta, Hong Kong, Côte d'Ivoire, Maldives, Andorra, Portugal, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, Seychelles, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy
- February (18th): Maldives, French Guiana, Guyana, Dominican Republic, Curacao, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, US Virgin Islands, Belize , North Korea, Morocco, French Southern Territories, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Peru, Laos, Chad, Togo
- March (24th): Paraguay, Samoa, Zimbabwe, Dominican Republic, Cameroon, Ghana, Guyana, French Guiana, Dominican Republic, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Saba Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Guatemala, Croatia, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Benin, Burkina Faso
- April 28: Dominican Republic, French Southern Territories, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, French Guiana, Guyana, Mauritania, Côte d'Ivoire, Saba, Comoros, British Indian Ocean Territory, Mauritius, China, Slovenia, Croatia, Cape Verde, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Cyprus, Turkey, Niger, Jordan, Israel, Vietnam, Colombia, Saint Barthele Rice, Laos
- May (20th): Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Tuvalu, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Niue, Brazil, Martinique, Maldives, Costa Rica, Mexico, Belize, Kailash Man Islands, Cuba, Saba, Cocos Islands, Niger, Kuwait, Iraq, St. Louis Eustatius
- June (24th): French Southern Territories, Guatemala, Aruba, Curacao, Cyprus, Zimbabwe, Comoros, Grenada, Saint Eustatius, North Korea, New Zealand Zealand, Dominican Republic, Cocos Islands, Costa Rica, Mauritius, Martinique, Taiwan, Paraguay, Algeria, Turkey, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Kuwait, China, French Guiana
By the end of June, two national monthly cold records had been broken or tied
China hit record coldest February.
Qatar set an all-time cold record in March.
Hemispheric and continental temperature records for 2024
- The highest and lowest January temperature ever recorded in Asia: 28.5°C (83.3°F) in Klong Thoey, Bangkok, Thailand, on January 14
- The highest ever low temperature in February in Asia: 29.1°C (84.1°F) in Diego Garcia (British Indian Territory) on 18 February
- The highest and lowest temperature ever recorded in March in South America: March 17, Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay, 31.6°C (88.9°F)
- Africa's highest ever April temperature: 48.5°C (119.3°F) in Marikayes on April 3
- The highest temperature ever recorded in May in North America: 51.1°C (124.0°F) in Galinas, Mexico, on May 9
- The highest and lowest temperature ever recorded in May in the Southern Hemisphere: 29.7°C (85.5°F) in Funafuti, Tuvalu, on May 21
- The highest temperature ever recorded in June in Africa: Assuan, Egypt, 50.9°C (123.6°F) on June 7
- The highest and lowest temperature ever recorded in June in the Southern Hemisphere: 29.3°C (84.7°F) in Funafuti, Tuvalu, on June 18
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