Warmest July in 40 years

July 2023 was the warmest month on record in the last four decades, the Cyprus Institute announced.

According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, this summer was by far the hottest on record globally, with an average temperature of 16.77°C, or 0.66°C above average.

It says a similar phenomenon, but to a greater extent, was recorded in Cyprus.

The Institute said in July, the average temperature at the Athalassa weather station in Nicosia was 40.0°C, making the month the warmest on record in the last four decades.

In July, the most consecutive high temperatures were recorded during a heatwave which lasted 16 days.

It notes that during 2020 at the Athalassa station, 48 days were recorded with a maximum temperature greater than 40.0°C, of which 30 occurred during the summer and the rest in other months: six in May, nine in September and one in October.

Moreover, in the summer of 2023, the Athalassa station measured consecutive days with very high temperatures every day between July 13 and 29, during which the maximum temperature exceeded 40°C.

“This extreme heat duration is unprecedented in the past 41 years based on data at the Athalassa station,” said the Institute.

The previous record was set in July 1987 and 2000, when there were ten consecutive days with a maximum temperature exceeding 40.0°C.