Last week was the hottest ever recorded — here’s why we keep smashing records

El Niño and climate change are behind the unprecedented temperatures

A digitally illustrated image of the Earth in a frying pan hovering over an open set of flames.

El Niño and climate change combined are shattering global temperature records, pushing Earth into uncharted territory.

MHJ/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images Plus

Global temperatures are shattering records as El Niño and climate change compound.

On July 3, the planet sweltered as the average global temperature reached 17.01° Celsius (62.62° Fahrenheit), the highest ever recorded, according to data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction. That surpassed the previous record of 16.92°