July 2019 shatters earth's record for hottest ever month since records began

Joe Gamp
·Contributor, Yahoo News UK
Updated
A sunny summer day with high temperatures during a heatwave in London, UK, on August 1, 2019. People including adults and children playing with the water in a dancing fountain at Granary Square, Kings Cross. In July 2019 London city and other cities in Europe had the highest ever measured temperature and the hottest day, a historical record high showing climate and weather change. (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
In July 2019 London and other cities in Europe had the highest ever measured temperature and the hottest day (GETTY)

Meteorologists have said July was the hottest month measured on Earth since records began in 1880.

Several European countries - including Britain, France, Belgium and Germany - saw previous national temperature records smashed during a continent-wide heatwave last month.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say that July was 0.95C (1.71F) warmer than the 20th century average for the month.

People cool down in the fountains of the Trocadero gardens in Paris, Thursday July 25, 2019, when a new all-time high temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 F) hit the French capital. in the background is the Eiffel Tower. (AP Photo/Rafael Yaghobzadeh)
Paris recorded its highest ever temperatures (AP)

But experts believe the periods of extreme heat are likely to continue because of man-made climate change.

Last month narrowly topped the previous July record, set in 2016, by 0.03C (0.05F).

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According to NOAA, nine of the 10 hottest Julys on record have occurred since 2005. Last month was the 43rd consecutive July above the 20th century average.

Record temperatures have gone hand-in-hand with other climate extremes.

A man and his dog walk without a shirt in the summer heat on Thursday, July 25, 2019 in the city of Egmond, northern Netherlands. The Netherlands saw record high temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius as Europe faces another heatwave. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
The Netherlands saw record high temperatures over 40C (AP)

Warming oceans have led to an early melt of sea ice in the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska, said Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Dr Mark McCarthy, from the Met Office National Climate Information Centre said: “The UK climate has been warming since the mid 20th Century, and this has been accompanied by similar increase in the hottest day of the year, which for the most recent decade has been 0.8C higher when compared with the period 1961-1990.

A street vendor sells his hats to tourists in front of the Colosseum in Rome on July 26, 2019 during a heatwave that smashed records across Europe. - The heatwave, which was expected to ease up on July 26, 2019 as rain and thunderstorms move in, again focused public attention on the problems caused by climate change. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP) (Photo credit should read VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)
A street vendor sells his hats to tourists in front of the Colosseum in Rome in July (GETTY)

“Climate change has increased the likelihood and severity of heatwave episodes across Europe, which will have also increased the risks of a 40C temperature event in the UK.”

Earlier in August, a report from the World Weather Attribution stated there is "extremely little chance" of temperatures reaching record breaking highs if humans had not made an impact on climate.

June of this year had already set a sizzling record for the month, the highest for the past 140 years.

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