The planet recorded its hottest day ever Sunday, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, as an unrelenting string of heat waves continue to topple daily record high temperatures across the U.S.—and more records are expected to fall as heat alerts remain in effect along the West Coast and northern Rocky Mountains.
July 20Fort Lauderdale, Florida tied a daily record for the second-straight day at 94 degrees Fahrenheit, and Orlando, Florida, set a new record of 97, while Boise, Idaho, tied a daily heat record of 93 degrees, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
July 19Fort Lauderdale tied its daily heat record (94), while Oakland, California, broke its record (96) and Corpus Christi, Texas, tied its daily record (100)
July 17Philadelphia tied its daily high temperature record of 98 degrees.
July 16Boston set a daily temperature record of 97 degrees, as did Pittsburgh (94), Manchester, New Hampshire (97), and Amarillo, Texas (105), while Hartford, Connecticut (96), and Washington D.C. (104), tied daily records.
July 15Raleigh (101) and Greensboro (99), North Carolina, set daily temperature records, joining Washington D.C. (102), Pittsburgh (96), Roanoke, Virginia (103), Annapolis, Maryland (94), and Manchester, New Hampshire (97).
July 14Fort Lauderdale, Florida (93), tied a daily heat record at 93 degrees.
July 13Pittsburgh (94), Reno, Nevada (103), and Manchester, New Hampshire (93) tied daily heat records.
July 12Reno, Nevada, broke its latest in a series of daily heat records (105), while Colorado Springs (100), Fresno, California (112) and Stockton, California (105), set a new records, and Phoenix (116), Salt Lake City (105), Flagstaff, Arizona (91), Pittsburgh (91) and Manchester, New Hampshire (93), tied daily records.
July 11Missoula, Montana, set a daily record for its second straight day at 99 degrees, joining Flagstaff, Arizona, (93), Provo, Utah (105), Sacramento, California (113), and Billings, Montana (100) to set daily heat records.
July 10Tucson, Arizona (110), Boise, Idaho (108), Missoula, Montana (101), and Manchester, New Hampshire (96), all broke daily high records, while Syracuse, New York (94), and Salt Lake City (104) tied daily records.
July 9Portland, Oregon, broke another daily record high (104), while Phoenix (116) and Tacoma, Washington (92), tied their daily records, and Tucson, Arizona (111), Reno, Nevada (105) and Seattle (98) broke their records, and a heat wave in the Northeast toppled daily records in Albany, New York (95), Manchester, New Hampshire (94).
July 8Portland, Oregon, broke its fourth consecutive daily high temperature record at a high of 102 degrees, as did Tucson, Arizona (112), Reno, Nevada (106), Spokane, Washington (100), Tacoma, Washington (90), Fresno, California (112), Flagstaff, Arizona (93), and Corpus Christi, Texas (100)—Seattle (95), Orlando, Florida (98), and New Haven, Connecticut (91) tied their daily heat records.
July 7Las Vegas shattered its previous daily record by four degrees, setting a new high of 120 degrees—an all-time record for the city—according to the National Weather Service—while Portland, Oregon (100), Seattle, Washington (93), Flagstaff, Arizona (94), Reno, Nevada (105), Fresno (114) and Bakersfield, California (114), broke daily records, Orlando, Florida, tied its daily record (97), and Death Valley, California, tied a daily record of 129 degrees (just one degree shy of the hottest temperature ever recorded on the planet).
July 6Las Vegas broke another daily record high of 115 degrees, as did Portland, Oregon (99), Salem, Oregon (103), Reno, Nevada (105), Stockton (111), Fresno (112), Bakersfield (112) and Sacramento (113), California, while Raleigh (102) and Charlotte, North Carolina (99) tied their daily record highs .
July 5Raleigh, North Carolina, broke its latest in a string of daily heat records with a high of 106 degrees, while Phoenix hit a record daily high of a whopping 118 degrees—and Shreveport, Louisiana (100), Tucson, Arizona (111), and Portland, Oregon (95) all tied their daily records.
July 4San Francisco broke a daily record high at 87 degrees, while Fort Lauderdale, Florida, tied its record (93), as did Raleigh, North Carolina (101), and Knoxville, Tennessee (97).
July 3Tampa, Florida, broke its daily heat record at a high of 97, while Baton Rouge, Louisiana (99) tied its daily record—and in California, Oakland broke its second straight record at 94.
July 2A heat wave in California brought a new daily record in Oakland (90) and San Jose (102), while in the South, New Orleans (98) and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (102) tied their daily heat records.
July 1Mobile, Alabama, broke a daily heat record at 98 degrees, and Houston tied its daily high (96).
June 30Richmond, Virginia, broke a daily record of 101 degrees, and Norfolk, Virginia, tied its record at 97.
June 29Fort Lauderdale, Florida, tied its daily record high at 94.
June 28Fort Lauderdale broke a daily record high at 93 degrees.
June 27Key West, Florida, broke its daily record high at 97 degrees.
June 26Memphis (99), Philadelphia (96) and Baltimore (99) all tied their daily record highs, while Atlanta (100), Washington D.C. (99), Birmingham, Alabama (101), Columbia, South Carolina (105), and Raleigh, North Carolina (103) broke their records.
June 25St. Louis (103), Montgomery, Alabama (101), Columbia, South Carolina (106) and Pensacola, Florida (97), all broke daily record highs, with Tallahassee, Florida (101), as well as Mobile (98) and Birmingham, Alabama (101), tying their daily records.
June 24Birmingham, Alabama (99), and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (100), tied their daily high temperature records as a heat wave stretched across the South and Great Plains, also breaking a daily record in Topeka, Kansas (102), Jacksonville, Florida (102), and tying one in Lincoln, Nebraska (103).
June 23Baltimore set a daily high temperature record at 98 degrees, and Washington D.C. broke its daily record at 99.
June 22Richmond, Virginia, tied its daily high temperature record at 99, as did Atlanta (98), while Reno, Nevada, broke its record of 101, Baltimore broke a record at 101 and Washington D.C. broke its record at a high of 100.
June 21Bangor (96 degrees) and Portland, Maine (94) set new daily record high temperatures, according to the National Weather Service, while Newark, New Jersey tied its daily record at 100 degrees and in the Southwest, Phoenix tied its daily record high at a whopping 117 degrees.
June 20Hartford, Connecticut, set a daily high temperature record of 98, according to the NWS, as a heat wave doggedly hovered over New England, also setting a new daily record in Portland, Maine at 94 degrees, and Manchester, New Hampshire (99).
June 19Daily temperature records fell across New England, including in Boston (98), Hartford, Connecticut (97), Worcester, Massachusetts (91), and Providence, Rhode Island (91), while in New York, Buffalo, Albany and Syracuse all tied their daily records (90, 94 and 95, respectively), and Cleveland tied a record at 92.
June 18Manchester, New Hampshire, broke its daily record at 97 degrees, as did Scranton, Pennsylvania (94), meanwhile Chicago tied a daily record at 95.
June 17Chicago hit a new daily heat record with temperatures rising to 97 degrees, while Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Milwaukee all tied their records at 93, 93 and 94 degrees, respectively, Cleveland broke its record (96) Syracuse, New York, broke a daily record (94), Louisville, Kentucky, broke a record (96), and in Toledo, Ohio, residents saw a new daily record of 99 degrees—Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also tied its record (92), as did McAllen, Texas, at 101.
June 16Tampa, Florida, tied its daily record high of 98, while Huntsville, Alabama, tied its record (98), Brownsville, Texas, tied a record (99), and Corpus Christi, Texas, broke its record (98).
June 15New Orleans tied its daily record of 97 degrees, while Pensacola, Florida, broke its daily record at a sweltering 98.
June 14McAllen, Texas, tied its daily record of 103 degrees, while New Orleans broke its record at 96.
June 13El Paso, Texas, broke a daily temperature record with a high of 109 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, while Colorado Springs set a daily record of 96, Boulder, Colorado, set a new daily record at 99, Albuquerque broke its record at 101—and in Texas, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and El Paso all set new daily records at 98, 99, 104 and 109, respectively.
June 12Tucson, Arizona, broke its daily record of 108 degrees, while Provo, Utah, broke its daily record at 100, as did Fort Collins, Colorado (97), and Brownsville, Texas (99), while Reno, Nevada, tied its daily record at 99.
June 11San Juan, Puerto Rico, tied a daily record max temperature at 93 degrees, and in Florida, Jacksonville tied its daily record of 98, while Flagstaff, Arizona, tied a daily record of its own, at 88.
June 10Fort Lauderdale, Florida, set its latest daily high at 94 degrees, while Orlando tied its daily record (97).
June 9For the third straight day, Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, Florida, broke daily heat records, with the high temperature reaching 96 degrees in Fort Lauderdale and 102 up the Atlantic Coast in Jacksonville—meanwhile, Orlando (98) and Miami (94) tied their daily heat records.
June 8Fort Lauderdale, Florida, set a new daily record at 96 degrees as a heat wave dragged on through the South, also setting daily records in Orlando (98), Jacksonville, Florida, (99), New Orleans (96), and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (98).
June 7Las Vegas broke another daily record 15 110 degrees, while Albuquerque’s temperature soared to 113 degrees, a daily high tying the city’s all-time record, and in Florida, Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville broke their daily records at 95 and 100 degrees, respectively, with Orlando tying a record at 96, and Mobile, Alabama, breaking its all-time daily high at 98.
June 6Las Vegas broke its previous record daily high, hitting 111 degrees according to the National Weather Service, and it also tied the record for the earliest day above 110 degrees, while Death Valley, California—one of the hottest places on Earth—recorded a new daily high at 122 degrees, Phoenix broke its daily record high when it hit 113 degrees and Fresno, California, broke a daily record at 107 degrees.
June 4For the third straight day, Tampa broke a daily heat record, peaking at 98 degrees, while San Antonio, Texas, saw a daily record of 103, and Brownsville, Texas, hit a daily record (99).
June 3Tampa broke a daily record high for the second straight day (94 degrees), while some cities in New England also broke records, including New Haven, Connecticut (83), and Manchester, New Hampshire (86).
June 2Tampa broke another daily heat record, at 96 degrees, while records continued to fall in Texas, with Brownsville breaking its daily record at 99 and Corpus Christi tying its daily record (96).
June 1Fort Lauderdale, Florida, broke its daily record high at 98 degrees, while Key West tied a record at 90.
May 31Las Vegas, Nevada, tied its daily record high temperature of 104 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, which warns residents to prepare for “dangerous” heat early next week.
May 31San Juan, Puerto Rico, broke its previous daily high of 93 degrees, recording a daily high at 94 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
May 30Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, Florida, both broke daily high temperatures, at 96 and 100 degrees, respectively, while Orlando tied its daily record of 96.
May 29Tampa set a new daily record at 97 degrees, while Orlando set a new record (97 degrees), Fort Lauderdale broke its daily record (96), while Miami (94) and Key West (92) tied their daily records.
May 29New Orleans also broke a daily record with a high of 94 degrees, while in Texas, McAllen set its latest record at 101 degrees—its sixth consecutive daily record temperature.
May 28Fort Lauderdale, Florida, broke its daily heat record by four degrees, with temperatures peaking at 95 degrees.
May 28New Orleans tied its all-time daily record for May 28 at 96 degrees, while multiple cities in Texas broke their daily records, with Brownsville hitting a high of 100, Corpus Christi maxing out at 96 and McAllen hitting its fifth straight daily record high at a blistering 102 degrees.
May 27McAllen, Texas, saw its fourth consecutive new daily record with a high of 101 degrees, while in Florida, Fort Lauderdale set a record for the city at 99 degrees.
May 26Daily temperature records fell across south Florida on Sunday, including in Miami (96 degrees), Fort Lauderdale (96 degrees) and West Palm Beach (95 degrees), with each city breaking its old daily high by two degrees.
May 26Brownsville, Texas, tied its latest in a string of daily records at 98 degrees on Sunday, making it the hottest daily high since 1928, while McAllen, Texas, set a daily high at 103 degrees, and Dallas set a new daily record at 98 degrees.
May 25A handful of Texas cities saw new daily heat records as the heat wave continued, including McAllen (100) and Brownsville (99), while Fort Worth tied its daily record, at 95 degrees.
May 25Across the South, Texarkana, Arkansas, also tied its daily record (93), while Baton Rouge, Louisiana, set a new daily high (95).
May 24Del Rio, Texas, tied its daily and monthly record temperature at 109 degrees on Friday, before topping its monthly record again at a high of 112 degrees on Sunday, the third hottest day ever recorded in the south Texas city, according to the National Weather Service.
May 24The cities of Brownsville and McAllen, Texas—on the Mexican border—both set daily records at 100 and 102 degrees, respectively.
May 24Pittsburgh tied its daily record, with an 84 degree reading at the Pittsburgh Allegheny County Airport.
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The global average surface air temperature on Sunday, July 21, reached 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit) according to data from Copernicus—the hottest day since at least 1940 (Copernicus data dates to the mid-20th century). The record comes as scientists continue to warn about devastating and long-range effects of human-caused climate change sparked by fossil fuel emissions, which scientists warn will exacerbate heat waves, intensify major storm systems and lead to sea-level rise and prolonged drought.
Forecasters also believe excessive heat will also drive up the number of named tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic this year, with meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicting the 2024 season will bring a record 17 to 25 named storms, including up to 13 hurricanes, with four to seven of those intensifying into category 3 hurricanes (maximum sustained wind speeds of 111 mph or greater). If that prediction holds up, it would far outpace the yearly average of just over 14 named storms observed over the past 30 years, and potentially outnumber the busy 2023 season, which brought 19 named storms and seven hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season officially started on June 1.
