I noticed several headlines on Wednesday declaring the 4th of July the HOTTEST DAY ON RECORD! I know that was supposed to prompt me to panic and go buy an electric vehicle or something, but as overwrought headlines often do, it prompted me, instead, to ponder: If Tuesday was the hottest day…what day held the record previously? Was it the day before? A year or two ago? Have we, with all our gross carbon footprint-y human-ing, been steadily building to this searing, ice cap melting crescendo?

Tuesday was the hottest day on Earth since at least 1979, with the global average temperature reaching 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit, according to data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Some scientists believe July 4 may have been one of the hottest days on… pic.twitter.com/IglbNKE1zh

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 5, 2023

So…I looked into it, and here’s what I discovered: First, the next hottest day was, in fact, the day before — which stands to reason if we’re in the middle of a heat wave. The next hottest day before that? August 2016. The experts attribute the soaring temps to “a dangerous combination of climate change,” the return of El Niño, and the start of Summer.

Second, the modeling system they use to measure the global average temperature has only been in use since 1979. And while instrument-based records date back to the mid-19th Century, scientists depend on data from tree rings and ice cores to provide “proxy data” for temps prior. That proxy data tells them: “It hasn’t been this warm since…125,000 years ago.”

Oh.

This “Moore to the Point” commentary aired on NewsTalkSTL on Friday, July 7th. Audio included below.