Global average surface air temperature was 17.09 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service says.

July 21 was the hottest day ever recorded globally, according to preliminary data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

The global average surface air temperature on Sunday reached 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit), the warmest since records began in 1940, the EU climate monitor said in a statement  on Tuesday.

The new high slightly exceeded the previous record set in July last year of 17.08C (62.74F), it said.

“What is truly staggering is how large the difference is between the temperature of the last 13 months and the previous temperature records. We are now in truly uncharted territory and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records being broken in future months and years,” the EU climate monitor’s director, Carlo Buontempo, said in a statement.

In recent weeks, heatwaves have scorched large swaths of the United States, Europe and Russia. Gaza has also been hit by a heatwave, making living conditions even more difficult for Palestinians who have been displaced due to Israel’s war in the enclave.

Every month since June 2023 has now ranked as the planet’s hottest since records began, compared with the corresponding month in previous years.

Scientists say human-induced global warming is behind the scorching temperatures.

Some scientists have also suggested that 2024 could outrank 2023 as the hottest year since records began as climate change and the El Nino natural weather phenomenon, which ended in April, have pushed temperatures ever higher this year.