This article was written by the Associated Press and was published in the Toronto Star on July 8, 2023.

Earth’s average temperature set a new unofficial record high on Thursday, the third such milestone in a week that already rated as the hottest on record.

The number — 17.23 C — doesn’t look that hot because it averages temperatures from around the globe.

Thursday’s planetary average surpassed the 17.18 C mark set Tuesday and equalled Wednesday, according to data from the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer, a tool that uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the world’s condition.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday issued a note of caution about the Maine tool’s findings, saying it could not confirm data that results in part from computer modelling.

The new unofficial record of 17.23 C doesn’t look that hot because it averages temperatures from around the globe