Record warmth is sweeping through multiple continents this week after 2023 made history as the world’s hottest year on record. Temperature records are falling on nearly every continent and could put 2024 on pace to challenge 2023′s exceptional heat.
Where it’s winter, the unusually warm temperatures are making it feel more like June than January. Where it’s summer, historic heat has surged well past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Putting it all together, the global average temperature is at its highest level on record for late January.
The exceptional warmth — 20 to 30 degrees above normal in some places — stretches as far south as Australia and South Africa, and as far north as northern Asia. It’s being driven by a combination of weather and climate factors, including El Niño.
Weather historian Maximiliano Herrera has documented the temperature records set in recent days. He has described the warmth on X, formerly Twitter, as “exceptional,” “relentless,” “insane” and “never ending.”
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The following is a summary of some of the more notable records:
Western Europe: High temperatures reached well into the 60s and in some cases surpassed 70 degrees on Wednesday. Record daily highs included 74 degrees Fahrenheit (23.3 Celsius) in Collobrières, France; 74 degrees (23.2 Celsius) in Cuenca, Spain; 64 degrees (17.9 Celsius) in Imst, Austria; and 62 degrees (16.4 Celsius) in Piotta, Switzerland. Les Salines reached at least 69 degrees (20.5 Celsius), a new January record for the county of Andorra.
In Germany, Geldern and Reinstetten set records Wednesday for warm minimum temperatures, both only dropping to 52 degrees (11 Celsius).
The breadth and intensity of the winter heat in Europe is reminiscent of a historic warm spell just over a year ago.
Australia: High temperatures approached 120 degrees in portions of South Australia and Queensland on Wednesday, including 119 degrees (48.3 Celsius) in Oodnadatta and 118 degrees (47.9 Celsius) in Birdsville. Records for warm minimum temperatures were set at several locations in recent days, including a low of 95 degrees (35.2 Celsius) at Birdsville, Queensland’s highest minimum temperature ever recorded.
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South America: Temperatures soared as high as 100 to 110 degrees on Tuesday. Trelew, Argentina, saw its hottest day on record with a high of 109 degrees (42.6 Celsius). Talca, Chile, notched its all-time record on Monday with a high of 102 degrees (38.8 Celsius) on a day that rewrote South America’s climatic history, according to Herrera.
Share this articleShareIn Colombia, Neiva reached 103 degrees (39.2 Celsius) and Girardot reached 102 degrees (38.9 Celsius) on Wednesday, both setting a record for highest January temperature, while Pao de Acucar in the Brazilian state of Alagoas reached 106 degrees (41.2 Celsius).
Africa: Record heat has baked the region from Liberia to Congo for weeks. Tuesday’s high of 103 degrees (39.6 Celsius) at Dimbokro was the Ivory Coast’s hottest January day on record. In South Africa, Vioolsdrif soared to 115 degrees (46.1 Celsius).
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Asia: Dawei, Myanmar, reached 99 degrees (37.0 Celsius) on Tuesday, breaking its January record for highest temperature, while the Maldives tied its warmest January temperature on record Wednesday with high of 92 degrees (33.4 Celsius) in Hanimaadhoo. Nearly 20 records were set Tuesday for warm minimum temperatures in Japan.
The Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Mexico have seen record warmth for this time of year as well.
The forecast
Weather models indicate the warm spells will persist for at least another week in many places. In Europe, record-challenging warmth is expected to expand eastward into central Europe. Heat warnings in effect across much of Australia are set to continue for eastern parts of the country into the weekend. Meteorologists there are also monitoring Tropical Cyclone Kirrily, which is closing in on the Queensland coast with heavy rain and strong winds.
In North America, temperatures in the central United States and across much of Canada were as much as 15 to 30 degrees above normal Wednesday. The unusual warmth was forecast to spread into the Eastern United States on Friday, setting numerous record highs. D.C. could reach 70 degrees in January for the first time in four years.
Several factors are contributing to the record warmth around the world. Routine fluctuations in the jet stream can allow warm temperatures to surge northward into Europe and North America even during the winter. That warmth is being enhanced by areas of strong high pressure in the higher levels in the atmosphere, which meteorologists refer to as heat domes in the summertime, and can help boost temperatures to near record levels any time of year.
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Other factors include the ongoing El Niño and lingering warm ocean waters, after 2023 set a record for global ocean heat content. Another contributor could be the positive Arctic Oscillation, a cyclical pattern of air pressure and winds around the Arctic, which tends to keep cold air contained near the North Pole during its current positive phase.
The warm start to January could bolster Earth’s chances for a record-warm 2024. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there is a “one-in-three chance that 2024 will be warmer than 2023, and a 99% chance that 2024 will rank among the top five warmest years.” Britain’s Meteorological Office has warned that this year’s average global temperature could eclipse the critical climate warming benchmark of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels.
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