ORLANDO, Fla. – The Earth’s average temperature rose to an all-time high on Monday, according to preliminary observations from the Climate Insititute and the University of Maine.
Temps climbed to 17.01° C (62.6° F) for the first time over on record, but then 24 hours later, on Tuesday, the temperatures climbed even higher to 62.9° F (17.18° C), breaking the record set the day before. These values are running 1.8° F warmer than the average temperature for this time of the year.
Along with a rapidly warming planet, a strengthening El Niño is also a big factor in this record-setting pattern. El Niño is a temporary natural warming in parts of the central Pacific Ocean that has a domino effect on the weather worldwide, usually causing an average warmer planet during this stage.
This two-day record-breaking stretch worldwide surpassed the previous record of 16.92° C set back on Aug. 13 and 14, 2016. During this time, the Earth was gradually coming out of the strongest El Niño season on record.
That brutal heat was very much felt on the Fourth of July in Central Florida, as heat advisories were in place areawide with actual air temperatures maxing out in the upper 90s! In Orlando, the high was 98° on Monday and 97° on Tuesday, officially being the hottest days of the year so far.
To make conditions even worse, Central Florida also had to deal with stifling humidity, making the feels-like temperatures over 110° during Independence Day festivities.
The heat has been building over the past year in Central Florida, with many locations seeing their warmest first half of the year ever on record.
Average Temperature in 2023 and ranking:
- Orlando: 74.1° F - (warmest)
- Sanford: 73.2° F - (3rd warmest)
- Melbourne: 73.7° F – (warmest)
- Daytona Beach: 71.9° F - (2nd warmest)
- Leesburg: 73.1° F (2nd hottest)
As the summer kicks into high gear over the next several months, it is important to remember the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke. People at greatest risk for heat-related illness include infants and children under 4 years old and adults over 65 years.