Despite Scotland’s cool and miserable weather, Earth sweltered in its hottest summer on record in 2024, new findings show.
The research by the EU’s Copernicus weather service found global temperatures were more than 1.5C hotter than average – a key global warming threshold.
And although the UK had its coolest summer since 2015, much of Europe baked with a temperature 1.54C above average – setting a new record for a second straight year.
It comes as brutal heatwaves have brought misery across swathes of the US, Australia and Asia this year.
In Delhi, India, in early summer, residents boiled in almost unliveable heat as temperatures hovered around 50C for weeks on end.
European experts said the summer data put the world on track for its warmest year in human history – a year on from 2023 shattering all records.
Global heating has been exacerbated by the naturally occurring El Nino weather phenomenon which spreads warm water around the world, although scientists say that’s now tailing off, raising hopes the world may cool slightly next year.
But man-made climate change is overwhelmingly driving the temperature changes, experts warn, particularly the burning of fossil fuels.
The northern meteorological summer – June, July and August – averaged 16.8C, according to Copernicus – 0.03C warmer than the old record in 2023.
Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess said: “During the past three months of 2024, the globe has experienced the hottest June and August, the hottest day on record, and the hottest boreal summer on record.
“This string of record temperatures is increasing the likelihood of 2024 being the hottest year on record.”
If 2024 does smash the temperature record, it will mean it is likely the hottest the world has been for at least 120,000 years.
With a forecasted La Nina – the opposite of El Nino, a temporary natural cooling of parts of the central Pacific – the last four months of the year may see record-breaking temperatures ease.
But it’s likely this won’t be enough to stop this year from being the warmest on record, Copernicus said.
Climate scientist Jennifer Francis said there has been a deluge of dangerous weather including heatwaves, floods and storms across the globe this year.
She said: “Like people living in a war zone with the constant thumping of bombs and clatter of guns, we are becoming deaf to what should be alarm bells and air-raid sirens.”
It comes as despite our comparatively cool summer, the west of Scotland is set to see one of its warmest days of the year so far, with temperatures of up to 27C forecast.
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our daily newsletter here