Last month was the second hottest September on RECORD: Average global temperatures hit 16.17°C – and scientists say climate change is to blame

Brits largely endured frigid temperatures in September – but globally, the story was quite different.  

Last month was the second-hottest September on record, the EU’s climate change programme has revealed. 

The global average air temperature for September 2024 was 61.1°F (16.17°C), which is 1.31°F (0.73°C) above the September average. 

What’s more, it’s just shy of the record set by September 2023 – 61.4°F (16.38°C). 

Worryingly, experts point to human-cased greenhouse gas emissions as the cause for this latest temperature ‘anomaly’. 

September’s global temperatures have climbed dramatically in the last 30 years, although September 2024 wasn’t quite as warm as September 2023

Globally, September 2024 was the second hottest September on record going back to 1940, the EU’s climate change programme says. Pictured, sunbathers in Sydney, Australia, September 1, 2024

According to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) – which is based in Bonn, Germany – September 2024 was 2.77°F (1.54°C) above the September average for 1850-1900. 

This is the designated ‘pre-industrial’ reference period to which modern temperatures are compared. 

‘September 2024 was the second warmest both globally and for Europe,’ said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S. 

According to Ms Burgess, warmer air temperatures around the world resulted in unusually wet weather in September 2024. 

Meteorologists already know that warmer air can hold more moisture, meaning more intense rainfall and flooding.

‘The extreme rainfall events of this month, something we are observing more and more often, have been made worse by a warmer atmosphere, leading to more intense rainfall with months’ worth of rain falling in just a few days,’ Ms Burgess said. 

‘The risk of extreme rainfall will continue to increase with rising temperatures; the sooner we reach net zero emissions, the sooner we can mitigate this risk.’ 

Several months in 2024 have broken records, becoming the hottest for that particular month – namely January, February, March, April, May and June. Meanwhile, July 2024 was not as warm as July 2023. August 2024 was the joint-warmest August globally (together with August 2023)

A drone view shows the A421 dual carriageway road after it was flooded following heavy rain, at Marston Moretaine near Bedford, England, September 23, 2024

Pictured, damage caused by heavy rain and flooding in Asheville, North Carolina, September 30, 2024

Security force members use an inflatable raft to rescue residents from a flooded area near the bank of the overflowing Bagmati River following heavy rain in Kathmandu, Nepal on September 28, 2024

C3S, managed by the European Commission, looks at temperature readings based on a variety of platforms and instruments, from weather stations to weather balloons and satellites. 

The department’s readings refer to the average air temperature for the whole planet over the whole year – so lower than a single typically ‘hot’ temperature reading. 

Several months in 2024 have broken records, becoming the hottest ever for that particular month – namely January, February, March, April, May and June. 

But July 2024 wasn’t quite as hot as the record-holder for July, bringing an end to more than a year of record-setting temperatures. 

August 2024, meanwhile, was the joint-warmest August globally (together with August 2023). 

While this September was not quite as hot as last year’s, C3S is still concerned of an ongoing warming trend that’s pushing up the global average.  

Surfers walk the beach and wait for waves in the ocean just outside the boundary of Ohana Festival at Doheny State Beach on September 29, 2024 in Dana Point, California

A firefighter tackles wildfire in the Angeles National Forest near the border between Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, in California, September 13, 2024. Wildfires are more severe during extended periods of hot dry weather, because higher temperatures cause more evaporation and this dries the vegetation, creating fuel for the fires

While September 2024 isn’t a record-setter for global heat, it was still significantly warmer than 20-30 years ago. Pictured, beachgoers in Benidorm, Spain, September 11, 2024

The global average temperature for the past 12 months (October 2023 to September 2024) is now the second-highest on record (for any 12-month period). 

The past 12 months have been 1.33°F (0.74°C) above the average between 1991 and 2020 and 2.91°F (1.62°C) above the pre-industrial average of 1850 to 1900, the department said. 

Looking at Europe individually, temperatures last month were 3.13°F (1.74°C) above the 1991-2020 average for September. 

Last month was the second-warmest September on record for Europe after September 2023, which was 4.51°F (2.51°C) above average. 

European temperatures were most above average over eastern and northeastern Europe, but below average in a large part of western Europe, including France, most of the Iberian Peninsula, and Iceland. 

Just like the rest of the world, September 2024 saw much of Europe experiencing above-average rain. 

Storm Boris led to heavy rainfall, floods and associated damage in the middle of the month over Central and Eastern Europe. 

September 2024 was the second-warmest September globally with an average surface air temperature of 61.1°F (16.17°C) – second only to September 2023

September 2024 saw much of Europe experiencing above-average rain. Storm Boris led to heavy rainfall, floods and associated damage in the middle of the month over Central and Eastern Europe

Outside of Europe, temperatures were most above average over Canada, the central and western United States, South America, northeast Africa, China, and Japan. 

C3S also revealed that the the global average sea surface temperature (another metric that measures heat close to the ocean’s surface) was 20.83°C last month, the second-highest value on record for the month (after September 2023).

Meanwhile, in the UK, September saw ‘unsettled weather’ across the UK – namely ‘variable temperatures and persistent showers’, according to the Met Office. 

‘The month began on a warm note, with above average temperatures across the UK persisting for the first week as successive plumes of warm, humid air were drawn northwards off continental Europe,’ it says in its climate summery. 

‘However, by the 11th, the temperatures dropped as Arctic air moved in.’

It was the wettest September on record for some UK counties, including Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire, according to provisional Met Office figures – although no national monthly records were broken.