LOS ANGELES: This week has seen the hottest global temperature ever recorded, according to data from the US National Centres for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).
Tuesday was the hottest day on Earth since at least 1979, with the global average temperature reaching 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit (17.18 degrees Celsius), according to NCEP data, reported Xinhua.
Experts said that the record heat was driven by a series factors, including global warming, the return of the El Niño pattern and the start of summer in the northern hemisphere.
Dangerous levels of heat continue to hit the South, West and Midwest of the United States on Wednesday, according to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
About 46.6 million people, 14 per cent of the US population, live in the areas expected to have dangerous levels of heat, according to a New York Times report. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
