On 1 Sept., the temperature in the Cayman Islands reached a sweltering 94.5°F (34.7°C) making it the hottest September day in recorded history.
The Cayman Islands National Weather Service released its weather statistics for September on Monday, 2 Oct.
As well as the hottest day, it also revealed that the average for the month was the highest ever recorded, hitting 87.1°F (30.6°C).
It was not only hot, but wet, as total rainfall for the month was greater than its average of 8.52 inches (216 millimetres), at a recorded 9.25 inches (235 mm).
The wettest day was on 15 Sept., when 2.6 inches (65 mm) fell.
In June, John Tibbetts, NWS director general, said climate change is causing more frequent and intense heatwaves.
“The dangers to human health from heatwaves are significantly increased when accompanied with high humidity,” he told the Compass.
Tibbetts said data showed that average annual air temperatures had increased by about 2.2°C over the past 40 years in the Cayman Islands.
In July, the world recorded its hottest day, with the average global temperature on 7 July reaching 17.24°C, which was 0.3°C above the previous record of 16.94°C recorded on 16 Aug. 2016.
Cayman also recorded its hottest ever July day of 35.3°C on 21 July, while 13 days during that month exceeded their day’s record.
Christopher Hewitt, director of climate services at the World Meteorological Organization, at the time said the high temperature was partly related to the onset of El Niño.
The weather phenomenon was expected to further fuel the heat both on land and in the oceans, and lead to more extreme temperatures and marine heatwaves over the summer.
“We are in uncharted territory and we can expect more records to fall as El Niño develops further and these impacts will extend into 2024,” Hewitt said.
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