A record has been broken, we have the hottest day in the world since the temperature has been measured

The average global temperature reached a new high on Monday 3 July, above 17 degrees Celsius for the first time.

Scientists say the reading was the highest of any instrumental record dating back to the late 19th century, reports the BBC.

The extreme heat is due to a combination of the El Niño weather event and ongoing human-caused carbon dioxide emissions.

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Researchers believe there will be more records in the coming months as El Niño strengthens.

Since the beginning of this year, researchers have become increasingly concerned about rapidly rising temperatures on land and at sea.

The record spring heat in Spain and in many Asian countries was followed by heat waves in places that don't normally have them, such as in the North Sea.

This week, China continued to escape a sustained heatwave with temperatures in some places above 35 degrees Celsius, while the southern US was also subject to severe weather conditions.

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Against this background, the global average temperature reached 17,01 C on July 3, according to the US National Centers for Environmental Assessment.

This broke the previous record of 16,92 C dating back to August 2016.

Read more The United Nations warns of a new wave of El Niño

Monday's temperature is the warmest since satellite tracking began in 1979. Experts also believe it is the most since widespread instrumental records began in the late 19th century.

BG/Free Europe

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