Record temperatures set in Denmark and Svalbard amid global climate crisis

The year 2023 marked a record year for climate conditions both domestically and globally. Early indications suggest that 2024 could follow suit with some remarkable measurements recorded so far.

This spring in Denmark was the warmest recorded, largely due to an exceptionally warm May. Observations indicate that this spring was the hottest in memory, with records dating back to 1874.

Globally, July 22, 2024, was measured by NASA as the hottest day on Earth, surpassing even the previous day’s record, which had already broken thresholds set in July 2023.

The summer season just concluded was identified by the EU’s Copernicus climate service as the hottest ever recorded globally. This surge in temperatures is attributed to the El Niño weather phenomenon, compounded by human-induced climate change. Researchers anticipate that the arrival of La Niña in November could temporarily temper global temperatures.

Remarkably, from June 2023 to June 2024, there were consecutive record-breaking months with 13 months in a row experiencing record-high temperatures. However, July 2024 did not surpass July 2023, which retained the title of hottest July.

In August, the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, located north of the Arctic Circle, experienced astonishing heat records, with an average temperature at Svalbard Airport reaching 11.0 degrees Celsius, exceeding last year’s record by 2.6 degrees and standing 5.0 degrees above the climatic norms from 1991 to 2020.

Moreover, July marked the hottest month ever recorded in China, since temperature records began about 60 years ago, with an average air temperature of 23.21 degrees Celsius.

Additionally, global sea surface temperatures have also reached record highs, remaining at elevated levels since March 2023, according to measurements from NOAA. May 2024 saw water temperatures surpassing the record set just a year prior in May 2023.