On July 6, the global average temperature reached an unofficial record high of 17.23 degrees Celsius, or 63 degrees Fahrenheit. This data, sourced from the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer tool, which uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the world’s condition, marks the third such record in a week that was already the hottest on record.

This includes areas experiencing dangerous heat, such as Jingxing, China, which reached 43.3 degrees Celsius, or 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and Antarctica, where temperatures were up to 4.5 degrees Celsius (eight degrees Fahrenheit) above normal.

While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could not validate the University of Maine’s methodology or conclusion, they acknowledged that this warm period is due to climate change.

This record high temperature is yet another troubling sign of global warming. Robert Watson, a scientist and former chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, noted that governments and the private sector, as well as citizens, are not yet committed to addressing climate change.

He said that until their demands for cheap energy and food change, global warming will become the new normal. The current record temperatures are a stark reminder of the need to take action to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Scientists have warned that if we fail to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow the rate of global warming, the world will be facing far more dramatic changes in temperature in the coming decades. This latest record high should be taken seriously, as it is yet another indication of the drastic changes the planet is facing due to climate change.

We must act now to reduce our carbon emissions and take steps to slow global warming, or else we will be facing ever-rising temperatures and more devastating extreme weather events.