--- description: “The extreme weather which has affected many millions of people in July is unfortunately the harsh reality of climate change." title: July Will Very Likely Be The Hottest Month Ever image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e403931d5311e69/698a3f14b21a9c83b3507727/greece-wildfire-heat-wave-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Climate](/section/climate/) ## Climate Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [extreme weather](/tag/extreme-weather/) ## extreme weather Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # It's 'Extremely Likely' This July Will Be the Hottest Month Ever ## Video: Hot Tub-Level Water at Tip of Florida May Be Hottest Seawater Ever Recorded [Watch (HLS stream): Hot Tub-Level Water at Tip of Florida May Be Hottest Seawater Ever Recorded](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WRkfzxhA.m3u8) (1:44)  _Published 2023-07-26. The water temperature on the tip of Florida hit hot tub levels, exceeding 100 degrees (37.8 degrees Celsius) two days in a row. And meteorologists say that could potentially be the hottest seawater ever measured, although there are some issues with the reading._  by [Kyla Mandel](/author/kyla-mandel/)  ## Kyla Mandel Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mandel is a senior editor at TIME. Jul 27, 2023 1:53 PM CUT  Smoke rises as teams try to extinguish wildfires on Rhodes island, Greece on July 25, 2023. Smoke rises as teams try to extinguish wildfires on Rhodes island, Greece on July 25, 2023.Ahmed Abbasi/Anadolu Agency—Getty Images  by [Kyla Mandel](/author/kyla-mandel/)  ## Kyla Mandel Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mandel is a senior editor at TIME. Jul 27, 2023 1:53 PM CUT July isn't even over yet and a group of scientists are saying it’s “extremely likely,” it will be the hottest month ever recorded. That's according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the E.U.-funded [Copernicus Climate Change Service.](https://climate.copernicus.eu/about-us "undefined") Already, the first three weeks of this month have been the warmest three-week stretch globally on record. Comparing that stretch of time to previous years, experts believe this July is on track to beat previous records. And the world has already been experiencing the impact of this [climate-changed](https://time.com/section/climate/ "undefined") world—from [heat waves](https://time.com/6295531/heat-stroke-exhaustion-stress-differences/ "undefined") in Europe, the U.S., and Asia, to wildfires in Canada and Greece, and [hot tub-esque seawater](https://www.miamiherald.com/news/article277656523.html "undefined")around Miami. “The extreme weather which has affected many millions of people in July is unfortunately the harsh reality of climate change and a foretaste of the future,” said Petteri Taalas, the World Meteorological Organization’s Secretary-General, in a statement. “The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is more urgent than ever before. Climate action is not a luxury but a must.” To make their determination, scientists at the WMO and Copernicus looked at satellite data for both surface air and sea temperatures. July 6 saw the global average surface air temperature reach a record 17.08°C (62.74°F). And for the month so far, average global air temperatures have reached 16.95°C (62.51°F). That's well above the average 16.63°C (61.93°F) temperatures experienced in July 2019 which, until this month is over, will technically hold the top place as the warmest July, and warmest month, ever recorded. Meanwhile, average global sea surface temperatures have been at record highs since April. ### More From TIME **Read more:** [_When It Comes to Climate Change, There's No Such Thing as a New Normal_](https://time.com/6296005/no-new-normal-with-climate-change/ "undefined") This month's record heat comes amid the developing [El Nino](https://time.com/6286249/what-is-el-nino/ "undefined") weather phenomenon, which is [expected](https://www.carbonbrief.org/state-of-the-climate-2023-now-likely-hottest-year-on-record-after-extreme-summer/ "undefined") to boost the impacts of climate change further, from extreme heat to weirder weather. Unfortunately, experts don't expect things to ease up anytime soon. “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," said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, in a statement. “July’s record is unlikely to remain isolated this year." **_A version of this story also appears in the_** **Climate is Everything** **_newsletter. To sign up,_** [**_click here_**](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters/?newsletter%5Fname=climate&source=onsite "undefined")**_._** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6298508/hottest-july-ever-recorded/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6298508/hottest-july-ever-recorded/"},"headline":"It's 'Extremely Likely' This July Will Be the Hottest Month Ever","datePublished":"2023-07-27T13:53:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T16:12:31.964Z","description":"“The extreme weather which has affected many millions of people in July is unfortunately the harsh reality of climate change.\"","url":"https://time.com/6298508/hottest-july-ever-recorded/","keywords":["extreme weather","climate change","healthscienceclimate","Climate Is Everything"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e403931d5311e69/698a3f14b21a9c83b3507727/greece-wildfire-heat-wave-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kyla Mandel","jobTitle":"Mandel is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/kyla-mandel/"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e403931d5311e69/698a3f14b21a9c83b3507727/greece-wildfire-heat-wave-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Greece continues fight against wildfires on islands of Rhodes","caption":"Smoke rises as teams try to extinguish wildfires on Rhodes island, Greece on July 25, 2023.","creditText":"Ahmed Abbasi/Anadolu Agency—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/extreme-weather/","name":"extreme weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6298508/hottest-july-ever-recorded/","name":"It's 'Extremely Likely' This July Will Be the Hottest Month Ever"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Hot Tub-Level Water at Tip of Florida May Be Hottest Seawater Ever Recorded","description":"The water temperature on the tip of Florida hit hot tub levels, exceeding 100 degrees (37.8 degrees Celsius) two days in a row. 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