- Europe sets a new record for highest temperature at 119.8°F, surpassing previous record set in Greece in 1977.
- World Meteorological Organization verifies the new record temperature in Syracuse, Italy.
- This is the highest temperature ever recorded in continental Europe, highlighting the trend of increasing high temperature records globally.
Additional Coverage:
Europe has officially set a new record for its highest temperature, reaching 119.8°F on August 11, 2021, surpassing the previous record of 118.4°F recorded in Greece in 1977. The new record was verified by the World Meteorological Organization. This extreme heat was recorded on the Italian island of Sicily, specifically in Syracuse. While August is usually the hottest month for Syracuse with an average temperature of 80.1°F, the 2021 spike to almost 120°F was unprecedented. This temperature is the highest ever recorded for continental Europe, which includes parts of Asia like Turkey and Syria.
The verification process for this new record was conducted by a panel of international atmospheric scientists in order to ensure its accuracy. Professor Randall Cerveny, rapporteur of climate and weather extremes for the World Meteorological Organization, emphasized the importance of these investigations and the need to properly measure global temperatures. He also warned of the alarming trend of consistently setting new high temperature records in specific regions of the world.
While the previous record in Greece was based on official government sources, it has not been verified by the World Meteorological Organization. Cerveny stated that these extreme weather events serve as “snapshots” of the current climate, and it is likely that even greater extremes will occur in the future. The findings of this new record temperature were published in the International Journal of Climatology and the World Meteorological Organization’s Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes, officially recognizing Sicily as the location for the hottest temperature ever recorded in continental Europe.
In addition to the record-setting temperature in Europe, the committee responsible for verifying this record is also investigating other weather phenomena, such as determining if Tropical Cyclone Freddy broke a record in 2023 for the longest tropical cyclone. It is evident that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense globally.
Furthermore, 2023 has been established as the hottest year on record for the Earth as a whole. Copernicus, the European Union’s climate agency, reported a global average temperature of 14.98°C (58.96°F) for that year, surpassing the previous record set in 2016 by 0.17 degrees Celsius. These records highlight the urgent need to address and mitigate the effects of climate change as it continues to impact our planet.