An EU agency says July 2023 was Earth's hottest month on record.

The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced on Tuesday that July's global average temperature was 16.95 degrees Celsius. That's above the previous record of 16.63 degrees in July 2019 and the warmest since data-taking began in 1940.

July 6 was the hottest day. The global average climbed to 17.08 degrees.

The EU agency says global sea-surface temperatures have been unusually high since mid-May. On July 31, the average daily sea-surface temperature reached a record 20.96 degrees, exceeding the previous high of 20.95 degrees set on March 2016.

The agency says warmer waters contributed to the exceptionally high temperatures in July.

Last month, heat waves hit many parts of the world, including Asia, Europe and the United States. Massive wildfires broke out in Canada and Greece.

The agency says greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are the main driver of record-high temperatures.

It suggests temperatures on land are likely to continue to be well above average and will probably reach more record-high averages.