4 out of 5 people have felt climate change-driven heat this year

New analysis shows worldwide, more than 6.5 billion people experienced unusual heat driven by climate change in July.

John Locher / AP

By Scripps News Staff
Aug 2, 2023

July of 2023 was noticeably warmer for 4 out of every 5 people on Earth, according to a new analysis by the science nonprofit Climate Central.

The group found that sometime in July, more than 6.5 billion people experienced noticeably elevated temperatures due to the effects of climate change. More than 2 billion people experienced the effects of accelerated warming on a daily basis.

The analysis found fossil fuel emissions tripled the likelihood of elevated temperatures in 4,019 cities worldwide, or 85% of all cities that were measured.

A billion people, most of them in tropical regions, experienced temperatures that were three times more likely to be elevated during every single day of July.

In the U.S., more than 244 million people felt hotter temperatures due to climate change. The effect was most pronounced in Florida, and generally diminished as the measurement location moved north.

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The findings have not yet been peer-reviewed, but experts who spoke to The Associated Press said the findings were credible.

And other data collected in July of this year shows that the month stood as a temperature outlier worldwide. Climate data has shown July of this year set multiple records for the hottest day, week and month ever recorded.