The earth is getting hotter, although the planet is now farthest from the Sun.

The sudden change in climate has changed the temperature indicators, even though the Earth is now farthest from our star.

Many areas of the northern hemisphere have the highest temperatures ever recorded, despite the fact that our planet is at the point of its orbit when the physical distance between the Earth and the Sun is greatest.

On the day of the aphelion, which usually occurs on July 3-6, each year, the Earth is at the point of its elliptical orbit around the Sun, where we are farthest from the star. This year, this event took place on the evening of July 5.

Aphelius is the farthest from the Sun the point of the orbit of the planet or other celestial body in the Solar System, as well as the distance from this point to the Sun. The antonym of the aphelion is the perihelion - the closest point of the orbit to the Sun. The imaginary line between aphelion and perihelion is called the apse line.

Our path around the Sun is oval, not circular, which means that we usually approach the star or move away from it.

However, according to NASA, in early January, when the Earth is closest to the Sun, it is only a little more than three percent closer than on the day of the aphelion.

This should lead to the fact that a little more heat will reach the surface of the planet. But that's more than about seven percent, according to NASA.

This is nothing compared to the almost threefold increase in heat in many places at the middle latitudes between the winter and summer solstices. As a result, the inclination of the Earth, which represents our seasons, leads to more sudden fluctuations in temperature during the same six-month period between aphelion and perihelion.

However, scientists say record temperatures caused by last month's heat wave in the northern hemisphere were slightly lower than they could have been if the same patterns had appeared in the south in late December and early January.

If we could change the Earth's orbit so that at the end of June we approach perihelion, not aphelion, the new maximum temperature record would be a few degrees higher.

Does this mean that things are worse in the southern hemisphere because summer coincides with perihelion? The south seems to experience less dramatic seasonal temperature fluctuations, as it is much less urbanized than the north. But this is just one of many variables. The tiny influence of the perihelion is easily lost in a sea of ​​other factors. Climate change continues to increase pressure, leading to an increase in the average temperature on the planet with each season, scientists say.