Summer of extremes as fires, floods and heatwaves grip the globe
Firefighters and local officials remain on high alert after France's largest wildfire in decades was brought under control this weekend in the south of the country.
With scorching temperatures still in the forecast, there are fears that the flames could reignite.
Over the course of three days last week, the blaze swept through more than 160 square kilometres of the Aude wine region, claiming one life and forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate.
Record-breaking heat, ferocious wildfires, devastating floods… August has only just begun, yet extreme weather events are already cropping up across the northern hemisphere.
According to the European Copernicus programme, this July was among the hottest on record.
French wildfire 'under control', but wine region faces long road to recovery
1.5C climate goals 'beyond reach'
It's becoming a familiar pattern as each summer brings with it a fresh batch of worrying climate milestones.
Early August 2025 is no exception, with Canada grappling with exceptional drought and fires; Pakistan and Hong Kong battling torrential rain; and Finland and Sweden sweltering under Mediterranean-style heatwaves.
Globally, the outlook isn't much more reassuring. The Copernicus climate service, which monitors the state of the planet year-round, has confirmed that July 2025 was the third hottest month on record – just behind July 2024 and July 2023, which still hold the all-time high.
Over the past 12 months, the average global temperature has been 1.53C above pre-industrial levels – surpassing the 1.5C target set by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
While this figure alone doesn't confirm a long-term climate shift, the trend has experts worried.
In June, a group of leading French scientists – formerly with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – publicly agreed for the first time that the Paris target is now out of reach as countries have failed to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
UN court rules countries must treat climate change as an 'existential threat'
Vietnam swelters under unprecedented heat
In Hanoi, locals are doing their best to keep cool – seeking shade, avoiding the midday sun, and adjusting to the sweltering conditions.
Northern Vietnam has been scorched by record-breaking August temperatures, with highs of over 40C on Sunday 3 and Monday 4 August – unheard of for this time of year.
According to RFI's correspondent in Hanoi, Jean-Pierre Fage, the temperature on the city's main roads feels several degrees hotter, with the dense traffic adding to the oppressive heat.
The Red River Delta – normally a humid, fertile hub for agriculture – saw humidity levels plunge to just 52 percent last Monday, intensifying drought conditions and prompting concerns among farmers.
Many have begun working earlier or later in the day to avoid peak heat and are ramping up irrigation efforts, according to national media.
July already brought three heatwaves to the region, with temperatures sitting 0.5 to 1.5C above seasonal norms.
A brief respite may be on the horizon, with the mercury expected to fall and storms brewing in the mountains.
But meteorologists are warning that another widespread heatwave could hit as early as this week, affecting the entire north.
More killer heat and rising seas likely in next five years, UN warns
Iran faces blackouts and water shortages
Meanwhile, the situation in Iran continues to deteriorate. In provincial towns and parts of Tehran, residents are now experiencing two two-hour power cuts each day.
Water shortages are becoming increasingly severe, as reported by RFI's correspondent in Tehran, Siavosh Ghazi.
A drought – worse than anything seen in the past five years – has tightened its grip, crippling power generation and industrial output in some regions.
Electricity in key industrial zones has been cut for days at a time, severely affecting productivity.
Authorities have now issued a stark warning: Tehran and neighbouring Alborz province – home to more than 20 million people, or a quarter of Iran's population – could run out of drinking water within six weeks.
Protests have already erupted in several cities, and unless conditions improve, the coming weeks could see further unrest.
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Boston Globe
39 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Heat wave scorches parts of Europe
Land temperatures have risen about 2.3 °C above preindustrial levels, nearly twice the global average, intensifying heat waves and driving record fire seasons. Advertisement With major outbreaks in Spain, Portugal, and deadly blazes in Greece since late June, the burned area is already far above the seasonal norm. On Monday, the French national weather authority, Météo-France, placed 12 departments on red alert, the country's highest heat warning, anticipating exceptional heat stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean plains. 41 other departments were under lower-level orange alerts, as was the neighboring microstate of Andorra, between France and Spain. 'Don't be fooled — this isn't 'normal, it's summer.' It's not normal, it's a nightmare,' agricultural climatologist Serge Zaka told broadcaster BFMTV from Montauban in France's Tarn-et-Garonne department, where the blistering heat pressed relentlessly throughout the day. Social media images showed shuttered streets in Valence, residents shielding windows with foil to reflect the light, and tourists huddling under umbrellas along the Garonne in Toulouse. Across the south, café terraces stood empty as people sought cooler corners indoors. Advertisement In France's Aude department, a patchwork of vineyards and Mediterranean scrubland, hundreds of firefighters remained in the rolling wine country guarding the edges of a massive, deadly blaze that scorched 16,000 hectares (40,000 acres) last week. Officials say the fire is The red alert in France has been issued only eight times since it was created in 2004, after a deadly summer the year before. It is reserved for extreme, prolonged heat with major health risks and the potential to disrupt daily life. The designation gives local officials powers to cancel outdoor events, close public venues, and alter school or summer camp schedules. The heat wave, France's second of the summer, began Friday and is expected to last all week, carrying into the Aug. 15 holiday weekend. It is already pushing northward, with 38 °C (100.4 °F) forecast in the Centre-Val de Loire region and up to 34 °C (93.2 °F) in Paris. Across the English Channel, the U.K.'s Met Office expects the country's fourth heat wave of the summer to peak around 33 °C (90 °F) in London on Tuesday. The UK Health Security Agency issued a yellow health alert for older adults and those with medical conditions. Montenegro reported wildfires near the capital, Podgorica, and along the Adriatic coast, prompting urgent appeals for help from neighboring countries. Families were evacuated from an area north of the capital as army units worked to protect the ruins of the ancient city of Duklja. Advertisement Senior emergency official Nikola Bojanovic described the situation as 'catastrophic,' with strong winds driving the flames. Authorities urged residents to conserve drinking water to avoid restrictions. Fires also burned above Canj, a popular coastal resort. Bosnia's southern city of Mostar reached 43 °C (109 °F), while Croatia's Dubrovnik hit 34 °C (93 °F) in the morning. 'It's too hot, this is not normal,' said Fatima Safro, a resident of Mostar. 'It's very hot even during the night.' In Serbia, farmers on Suva Planina mountain renewed appeals for emergency water supplies for livestock after streams and ponds dried up. In Bulgaria, temperatures were expected to exceed 40 °C (104 °F) on Monday at the day's peak, with maximum fire danger alerts in place. Nearly 200 fires have been reported; most have been brought under control, localized, and extinguished, but the situation remains 'very challenging,' said Alexander Dzhartov, head of the national fire safety unit. Three major blazes continue along the borders with Greece and Turkey, including one near Strumyani that reignited after three weeks. More than 100 firefighters and emergency personnel are battling flames in rugged terrain unreachable by vehicles, supported by army helicopters and two Swedish aircraft. In Turkey, a wildfire fueled by high temperatures and strong winds forced authorities to evacuate holiday homes and a university campus and to suspend maritime traffic in the country's northwest. The fire broke out in an agricultural field in the province of Canakkale and spread into surrounding forestland, just two days after firefighting teams had contained a similar blaze in the area. Canakkale Governor Omer Toraman said the Dardanelles Strait — the narrow waterway linking the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara — was closed to allow water-dropping planes and helicopters to operate safely. Advertisement Sunday brought a new national high of 39.9 °C (104 °F) on Sunday in the southeast, breaking a record set in 1948. Budapest also recorded a city record at 38.7 °C (101.6 °F). Authorities imposed a nationwide fire ban amid extreme heat and drought.
CBS News
40 minutes ago
- CBS News
Lee Fire now fifth-largest single wildfire in Colorado history. These are the other four.
The Lee Fire near Meeker is now over 113,000 acres, fire maps show, and has surpassed the Spring Creek Fire of 2018 as the state's fifth-largest wildfire. Over 1,000 firefighters and a dozen aircraft are involved in efforts to contain and extinguish the fire, along with the nearby Elk Fire. A number of evacuations have already been ordered. For a live, interactive evacuation zone map, you can click here. The size of the fire has exploded since growing from 13,000 to almost 23,000 acres on Aug. 6, when Gov. Jared Polis issued an emergency disaster declaration. It has grown steadily in the days since, breaking 100,000 acres on Sunday. The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control maintains a list of the largest wildfires in the state's history. A quick overview of the agency's data shows the following: No homes have been lost in the fire, but several structures have been damaged. A full accounting of the damage likely can't be completed until the fire is extinguished, and as of Monday afternoon, it was only 7% contained. The most destructive fires in the state's history so far are as follows: At its current size on Monday, only four fires in state history are larger than the Lee Fire, although the West Fork Complex of 2013 comprised several fires in close proximity to one another, including the West Fork Fire at 58,570 acres and the Papoose Fire at 49,628 acres. Some rankings group the fires all as one, but the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control categorizes and ranks them separately. That agency's list shows the following four fires as being the only ones larger than the Lee Fire: Weather conditions are not expected to help containment efforts for some time, with relatively low humidity and winds of 7 to 10 mph until Friday. "Near critical fire weather will return today," the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team said in a statement. "This will include low relative humidity, periods of gusty winds from the north and clouds in the late afternoon. Critical dry fuels with the expected weather could result in extreme fire behavior in some areas of the Lee Fire." There will be a community meeting about the Lee Fire at 7 p.m. on Monday at Colorado Mountain College's Rifle Campus, 3695 Airport Road, where fire officials will provide updates to the public and answer any questions that community members have.
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
New Jersey city still has little or no water pressure 4 days after water main break
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