We may not have felt it in the UK and Ireland, but two days in early July were the hottest days on Earth since records began in 1979.

According to data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th July were the joint hottest days on record for Planet Earth.

So how hot was it? On both days, the average global temperature reached 17.18°C, surpassing the previous record of 17.01°C, only just set on the day prior, July 3rd 2023. The previous record was 16.92 °C set on August 14th 2016.

Among some of the statistics on Tuesday 4th July, extreme temperatures included reaching 34.4°C, Iran, Algeria and Oman each reaching 50°C and Manila in the Philippines seeing its hottest July day on record.

It's important to note that the hottest day on Earth is not the same as the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth. The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 56.7°C, which occurred in Death Valley, California in 1913.

The average global daily temperature is compiled using data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction and the University of Maine, which dates back to 1979 when satellite monitoring began.

These abnormally warm global temperatures are due to the combination of human-induced climate change and El Niño. El Niño is a natural climate pattern that causes the Pacific Ocean to warm, which in turn leads to warmer temperatures around the world.

While these days were record-breaking, it's possible to see even warmer global average temperatures as we head into the remainder of the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere.