July is confirmed as the Earth’s warmest month on record. The record-setting string of 31 consecutive days above 110 degrees in Phoenix, Arizona is part of an unrelenting series of summer heat waves in the Southwest and Southern U.S., stretching into the Midwest and experienced in other parts of the country.

In July, Phoenix had the hottest month ever observed in a U.S. city and July 2023 is the 11th warmest July on record in the U.S.

Scientists say this year is increasingly likely to become the hottest year on record.

“It’s likely that 2023 will break records as the warmest year ever,” said Michael E. Wysession, PhD, Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Wysession is expecting unusually high temperatures to continue through at least 2025, which means even more extreme weather in the near future.