(WGHP) – Congratulations! You just lived through the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. 

Yes, you heard that right, according to NOAA, July 2023 was the hottest month in 174 years of record-keeping with an average global surface temperature that was 2.02° above average. 

Since July is known as the globe’s warmest month of the year climatologically, that means July 2023 was also Earth’s warmest month on record.  

Globally, July 2023 was 0.36°F warmer than the previous July record, set in 2021. NOAA also states that “July 2023 marked the 47th consecutive July and the 533rd consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th-century average.” 

According to NASA, parts of South America, North Africa, North America and the Antarctic Peninsula were especially hot, experiencing temperatures around 7.2° above average. 

Across the world, NOAA reports several continents and countries recorded their warmest July. Africa, Asia, and South America had their warmest July on record as continents while Tasmania, Peru, Brazil, and the Caribbean also had a record hot month. 

Israel recorded its second-warmest July on record while New Zealand recorded its fourth-warmest July. 

While North America recorded its second-warmest July on record, the contiguous United States recorded its 11th-warmest July in the 129 years of record. 

As a continent, Europe recorded its eighth-warmest July. 

If you thought the Triad has seen extreme feels-like temperatures, imagine being in Iran on July 16, 2023, when the Persian Gulf International Airport recorded a heat index of 152°F! 

What makes the heat index value that high? It mainly has to do with the dewpoint.

On a typical summer day in the Triad, we observe a dew point in the mid-60s to low 70s. On July 16, when the Persian Gulf International Airport observed a head index of 152 degrees, the dew point was in the 90s! 

NASA’s data also shows that the five hottest Julys since 1880 have all happened in the past five years. 

Was July 2023 the warmest month on record in the Triad? 

The short answer is no, July 2023 was not even close to the warmest month on record in the Triad. 

In fact, according to observations kept at the Piedmont Triad International Airport, July 2023 was the 18th warmest July on record in the Triad. 

When looking at July 2023 temperatures in the Triad, we had an average temperature of 79.5° which is about 0.6° above normal. Basically, July in the Triad was a near-normal month. 

The warmest temperature in the Triad occurred on July 28 with a high temperature of 95°. So far, this is also the warmest temperature recorded this summer for the Triad. 

Just a little over an hour east along I-40, Raleigh tied for the 5th warmest July on record behind July 2011, 2012, 2022 and 1993. 

Raleigh’s average temperature in July was 82.3° which was 1.8° above their monthly normal.

In the Triangle, their warmest temperature in July occurred from the 26th to the 28th with a high temperature of 97°. 

Throughout July, the Triad observed 14 days at or above 90° while Raleigh recorded 26 days in the 90s. 

When looking at the monthly averages between the Triad and the Triangle as well as the whole globe, there was variability in temperatures everywhere. 

But, as a whole, we have officially lived through the hottest month on Earth.