For The Record

Highest-Ever Mauna Loa* CO2 Levels in recorded human history
(and millions of years before that) –  
CO2 Records

 AveragesNOAA MLO Scripps MLO 
Daily
CO2
425.01 ppm Apr 28 2023424.22 ppm** Apr 26 2023

Records Set Across Canada

Around The World – here

Canadian wildfire emissions hit record high as smoke reaches Europe

Flames reach upwards along the edge of a wildfire as seen from a Canadian Forces helicopter in Quebec

June 27, 2023 –  Gloria Dickie – Reuters

Wildfires burning through large swathes of eastern and western Canada have released a record 160 million tonnes of carbon, the EU’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service said on Tuesday.

This year’s wildfire season is the worst on record in Canada, with some 76,000 square kilometres (29,000 square miles) burning across eastern and western Canada. – more


Donnie Creek wildfire is now the largest in B.C.’s history

June 19th 2023 – By Brieanna Charlebois – National Observer

The Donnie Creek wildfire has grown into the largest blaze ever recorded in British Columbia, BC Wildfire Service said Sunday.

The fire, which is burning south of Fort Nelson in northeastern B.C., is now estimated at more than 5,343 square kilometres in size.

It surpasses the Plateau fire that charred 5,210 square kilometres northwest of Williams Lake in 2017 and was previously considered the province’s largest fire. – more


B.C. heat wave shatters Canadian record for highest temperature ever recorded

Last Updated: June 28, 2021 – CBC news

Lytton, B.C., broke the record Sunday afternoon for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada with a measurement of 46.6 C, according to Environment Canada. 

The previous record high temperature for the country was 45 C, set in Saskatchewan in July 1937.


Around The World

Hottest July on record

The global average temperature for July 2023 is confirmed to be the highest on record for any month. The month was 0.7°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average for July, and 0.3°C warmer than the previous warmest month, July 2019. The month is estimated to have been around 1.5°C warmer than the average for 1850-1900. 

Heatwaves were experienced in multiple regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including southern Europe. Well-above average temperatures occurred over several South American countries and around much of Antarctica. El Niño conditions continued to develop over the equatorial eastern Pacific. Marine air temperatures were well above average in several other regions.

Surface air temperature for July 2023 | Copernicus


Ocean heat record broken, with grim implications for the planet


Aug 4, 2023 – BBC

The oceans have hit their hottest ever recorded temperature as they soak up warmth from climate change, with dire implications for our planet’s health.

The average daily global sea surface temperature beat a 2016 record this week, according to the EU’s climate change service Copernicus.

It reached 20.96C (69.73F) – far above the average for this time of year.


Uncharted territory’: UN declares first week of July world’s hottest ever recorded

A woman wearing an electric fan, putting a cooling pad on her forehead and carrying an umbrella visits the Forbidden City on a sweltering July day in Beijing. Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

July 11, 2023 – the Guardian

“The world just had the hottest week on record, according to preliminary data,” the WMO said in a statement, adding that temperatures were breaking records on land and in the oceans, with “potentially devastating impacts on ecosystems and the environment”.

“We are in uncharted territory and we can expect more records to fall as El Niño develops further and these impacts will extend into 2024,” said Christopher Hewitt, WMO director of climate services.

“This is worrying news for the planet.”


For the third time this week, Earth sets an unofficial heat record.

Monday, July 3:  17.01 Celsius (62.6 degrees Fahrenheit), Earth’s highest ever average global temperature.
Tuesday, July 4:  17.18 Celsius, breaking the previous record set Monday!
Wednesday, July 5:  17.18 Celsius, remaining at the record high set the day before.
Update – Thursday, July 6:  Global temperatures reached a new high of 17.23 Celsius,  noted AP.


UK weather: hottest June since records began – Met Office

July 3, 2023 – Georgina Rannard – BBC

The average monthly temperature of 15.8C (60.4F) exceeded the previous highest average June temperature, recorded in 1940 and 1976, by 0.9C.

Climate change made the chance of surpassing the previous joint record at least twice as likely, scientists also said.

Records were broken in 72 of the 97 areas in the UK from which temperature data is collected.


Spain breaks record temperature for April – BBC News

Umbrellas to ward off the heat in Seville this week

April 28, 2023 – BBC News

Spain recorded its hottest ever temperature for April on Thursday, hitting 38.8C according to the country’s meteorological service.

The record figure was reached in Cordoba airport in southern Spain just after 15:00 local time (14:00 BST). For days a blistering heatwave has hit the country with temperatures 10-15C warmer than expected for April. It’s been driven by a mass of very hot air from Africa, coupled with a slow moving weather system.