The data confirming our fears: nearly 80% of the planet has reached record temperatures in just two decades
The planet is breaking heat records at such a fast pace that climate maps seem to change every year. This is not just a perception: data confirms that almost four-fifths of the Earth’s surface has experienced unprecedented high temperatures since the beginning of the millennium. What is most concerning is that a large portion of these records are recent.
A Planet Boiling Since 2000
New temperature records are not isolated events. A recent study indicates that temperatures have been rising steadily since the year 2000, with over a third of these records occurring in just the last five years. This suggests that the pace of global warming is intensifying just when the effects of international climate policies should be felt.
The Impact is Already Being Felt Worldwide
The heat is having an impact across the planet. In the early days of October, countries in the northern hemisphere are still experiencing heat waves that are unusual for the season. For example, Japan surpassed 32°C this week in several cities and recorded record numbers of people treated for heatstroke between May and September. In eastern Canada, some areas reached nearly 32°C in the middle of October, breaking records from the past few decades.
The Earth’s Heat is Rising Faster than the Oceans
Climatologist Zeke Hausfather, author of the study and contributor to Berkeley Earth, points out that the global average warming does not accurately reflect the real impact experienced in inhabited regions. “We focus on the global average, but that masks local effects,” he explains. “The land—where we all live—is heating up around 40% faster than the planet’s overall average.”
The figures support this claim. According to reports, this year could rank among the top five warmest ever recorded. In August, the land surface was 2.54°C warmer than the historical average, compared to a 1.64°C increase in the oceans. During the first eight months of the year, the temperature deviation over land was almost double that over the sea.
An Increasingly Exposed World to Extreme Heat
Hausfather had already predicted this trend in previous analyses. In 2023, he wrote that “the number of people living in areas with historic maximum temperatures has skyrocketed in the last three decades.” His estimate is clear: around half of the world’s population has experienced record temperatures since 1950 in the past ten years.
This type of heat is not just uncomfortable; it is lethal. In the United States, deaths from high temperatures exceed those caused by floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes combined, according to the National Weather Service. Europe is not exempt either: last summer, a heatwave linked to climate change resulted in over 2,300 deaths between late June and early July.
The Message Behind the Numbers
The evidence is overwhelming: record heat is not a passing anomaly but the new thermal norm of the 21st century.
Every record surpassed is not just another number on a table but a direct warning about the future of the human climate. What is happening now on the Earth’s surface is a glimpse into what could extend to the entire climate system if global emissions do not decrease drastically.
The planet is not warming uniformly: the land is at the forefront of a process that the oceans are just beginning to reflect. And if 78% of its surface has already reached historic records, the margin for surprise—and for action—is rapidly diminishing.
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