Third-hottest July on record wreaks climate havoc
Heavy rains flooded Pakistan and northern China; Canada, Scotland and Greece struggled to tame wildfires intensified by persistent drought; and many nations in Asia and Scandinavia recorded new average highs for the month.
"Two years after the hottest July on record, the recent streak of global temperature records is over," Carlo Buontempo, director of the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, said in a statement.
"But that does not mean climate change has stopped," he said. "We continue to witness the effects of a warming world."
A misleading dip
As in June, July showed a slight dip compared to the preceding two years, averaging 1.25C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) era.
2023 and 2024 warmed above that benchmark by more than 1.5C, which is the Paris Agreement target set in 2015 for capping the rise in global temperatures at relatively safe levels.
That deceptively small increase has been enough to make storms, heatwaves and other extreme weather events far more deadly and destructive.
"We continued to witness the effect of a warming world in events such as extreme heatwaves and catastrophic floods in July," Mr Buontempo said.
Last month, temperatures exceeded 50C in the Gulf, Iraq and - for the first time - Turkey, while torrential rains killed hundreds of people in China and Pakistan.
In Spain, more than 1,000 deaths were attributed by a public institute to the heat in July, half as many as in the same period in 2024.
The main source of the CO2 driving up temperatures is well known: the burning of oil, coal and gas to generate energy.
"Unless we rapidly stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, we should expect not only new temperature records but also a worsening of impacts," Mr Buontempo said.
Regional contrasts
Global average temperatures are calculated using billions of satellite and weather readings, both on land and at sea, and the data used by Copernicus extends back to 1940.
Even if July was milder in some places than in previous years, 11 countries experienced their hottest July in at least a half-century, including China, Japan, North Korea, Tajikistan, Bhutan, Brunei and Malaysia, according to AFP calculations.
In Europe, Nordic countries saw an unprecedented string of hot days, including more than 20 days above 30C across Finland.
More than half of Europe along with the Mediterranean region experienced the worst drought conditions in the first part of July since monitoring began in 2012, according to an AFP analysis of data from the European Drought Observatory (EDO).
In contrast, temperatures were below normal in North and South America, India and parts of Australia and Africa, as well as in Antarctica.
Seas still overheating
Last month was also the third-hottest July on record for sea surface temperatures.
Locally, however, several ocean records for July were broken: in the Norwegian Sea, in parts of the North Sea, in the North Atlantic west of France and Britain.
The extent of Arctic sea ice was 10% below average, the second lowest for a July in 47 years of satellite observations, virtually tied with the readings of 2012 and 2021.
Diminishing sea ice is a concern not because it adds to sea levels, but because it replaces the snow and ice that reflect almost all the Sun's energy back into space with deep blue ocean, which absorbs it.
90% of the excess heat generated by global warming is absorbed by the oceans.
In Antarctica, sea ice extent is the third lowest on record for this month.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
8 hours ago
- RTÉ News
'Challenging day' for firefighters battling huge blaze in France
Firefighters have contained a massive wildfire in southern France but local officials warned that scorching heat and dry conditions could reignite the blaze, as parts of the Mediterranean region face a heatwave. The fire has ravaged a vast area of France's southern Aude department at the peak of the summer tourist season, killing one person and injuring several others. Authorities said that hot, dry winds today - similar to those on the day the blaze began - and a heatwave would make the work of firefighters more difficult. "It's a challenging day, given that we are likely to be on red alert for heatwave from 4pm, which will not make things any easier," said Christian Pouget, prefect of the Aude department. The fire is no longer spreading but is still burning within a 16,000-hectare area, said Christophe Magny yesterday, chief of the region's firefighter unit, adding it would not be under control until this evening. But the blaze will "not be extinguished for several weeks," he said. Some 1,300 firefighters were mobilised to prevent the blaze from reigniting amid fears that the tramontane wind, which officials said picked up overnight, could fan lingering hot spots. Temperatures this weekend are expected to hit 40 degrees Celsius in some areas, and tomorrow is forecast to be the "hottest day nationwide," according to national weather service Meteo France. In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, a 65-year-old woman was found dead on Wednesday in her home, which was devastated by flames. Authorities said one resident suffered serious burns and four others were lightly injured, while 19 firefighters were hurt, including one with a head injury. Experts say European countries are becoming ever more vulnerable to such disasters due to intensifying summer heatwaves linked to global warming. The blaze - the largest in at least 50 years - tore through 16,000 hectares of vegetation, disaster officials said. For livestock farmers in Fontjoncouse, the fire has ravaged grazing land and wiped out much of their flocks, fuelling outrage among those who said they did not have time to evacuate their herds. Emmanuelle Bernier said she was "extremely angry" when she returned to a devastating scene, finding the pen that had housed her herd of goats in ruins, with 17 animals - some close to giving birth - lost in the fire. "I will definitely change jobs. This will change my whole life," she said. Ms Bernier's property now holds only a few geese and two sick goats after she had to temporarily entrust her surviving sheep to a local winegrower, as the damage to the farm was so extensive that they could no longer stay. "Everything here was built around the sheep, and seeing the flock leave was incredibly difficult for me," she said. But as she surveyed the scorched landscape, Ms Bernier voiced some hope for the future. "There's still a little life left," she said.
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Massive French wildfire contained but 'not under control'
French firefighters have said that the country's biggest wildfire in at least half a century was contained, but would not be brought under control before tomorrow evening. The fire near the Mediterranean coast has ravaged a vast area of the southern Aude department at the peak of the summer tourist season, killing one person and injuring several others. "The fire is contained but ... until Sunday evening the fire will not be under control," said Christophe Magny, chief of the region's firefighter unit. Authorities warned that tomorrow's forecasted hot, dry winds - similar to those when the fire began - and a heatwave alert with temperatures around 40C would keep the some 1,400 firefighters mobilised on high alert. "The firefighters will do their utmost before the return of the tramontane" this weekend, the president of the Aude departmental council, Helene Sandragne, told AFP, referring to a northerly wind that regularly blows through the area. The blaze - the largest in at least 50 years - tore through 16,000 hectares of vegetation, disaster officials said, revising an earlier estimate of 17,000 hectares. About 2,000 people were evacuated, though local authorities allowed them to return home yesterday evening. In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, a 65-year-old woman was found dead Wednesday in her home, which was devastated by flames. Authorities said one resident suffered serious burns and four others were lightly injured, while 19 firefighters were hurt, including one with a head injury. Experts say European countries are becoming ever more vulnerable to such disasters due to intensifying summer heatwaves linked to global warming.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
Over 160 sq km burnt by French wildfires in three days, as temperatures set to exceed 30C again this weekend
The fire in France's Aude wine region claimed one life and quickly spread over more than 160 sq km over three days in hot and dry weather, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes. Local authorities said they need to remain vigilant throughout the weekend because temperatures are expected to rise above 30C during another heatwave. Meanwhile, fires prompted evacuations elsewhere in the Mediterranean region, with authorities ordering evacuations near the Greek capital and in northern Turkey, where officials also had to temporarily suspend maritime traffic through the Dardanelles due to the smoke. In France, Aude administrator Christian Pouget said 1,000 people had not yet been able to return to their homes after the fire swept through 15 communes in the Corbieres mountain region, destroying or damaging at least 36 homes. One person died at home and at least 21 others were injured, including 16 firefighters, according to local authorities. Some 1,300 homes were still without electricity yesterday morning after infrastructure was extensively damaged, the Aude prefecture said. Residents have been warned not to return home without authorisation, as many roads remain blocked and dangerous. Those forced to flee have been housed in emergency shelters across 17 municipalities. Many fled to the community of Tuchan when the fire started on Tuesday, its mayor Beatrice Bertrand said. 'We have received and hosted over 200 people. We gave them food, thanks to local businesses who opened their stores despite it being very late,' Ms Bertrand said. 'Civil Protection brought us beds. And also, the local villagers offered their homes to welcome them. It was their first night here and many were shocked and scared.' An investigation is under way to determine what sparked the fire. Authorities said the fire was the largest recorded since France's national fire database was created in 2006, but the minister for ecological transition, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, went further, calling the blaze the worst since 1949 and linking it to climate change. The Mediterranean basin has seen multiple large fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires. Last month, a wildfire that reached the southern port of Marseille, France's second-largest city, injured around 300 people. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed of the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. In Greece, a fast-moving wildfire yesterday forced a series of evacuations south-east of Athens, approaching residential areas as firefighters battled strong winds. The blaze advanced over scrub-covered hillsides in the Keratea region, spreading through an area with scattered homes 25 miles from the capital. The fire service said one man was found dead during evacuation. As the flames tore through clusters of homes, gas canisters used for cooking exploded, cars went up in flames and residents battled from porches to save their homes. Firefighting planes and helicopters swooped over the flames that sent thick black clouds of smokes toward coastal areas. Authorities deployed 190 firefighters, supported by volunteers, and police blocked traffic in the area to allow fire engines through. Strong winds disrupted ferry services at ports around Athens. A wildfire fuelled by strong winds in north-west Turkey prompted authorities to evacuate a university campus and an elderly care home, and to suspend some maritime traffic yesterday, reports said. The flow of ships through the Dardanelles Strait was temporarily halted due to heavy smoke and reduced visibility in the narrow waterway. The fire broke out at an agricultural field near Saricaeli village in Canakkale, before spreading rapidly into a nearby forested area. With the flames approaching dangerously close to the care home and a campus of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, both facilities were evacuated as a precaution, the Cumhuriyet newspaper and other media reported. Footage aired by Haberturk TV showed a fire engine being engulfed in flames, forcing firefighters to flee. Meanwhile, firefighters in a mountainous area north of Los Angeles have made good progress in their battle against a brush fire which has forced thousands of people to evacuate the area, an official said. The Canyon Fire ignited on Thursday afternoon and spread rapidly in the dry, steep terrain of Ventura and Los Angeles counties to more than 7.6 square miles, with no containment by 11pm, according to Ventura County Fire Department. At least 400 personnel battled the blaze, along with several planes and helicopters. No further growth was reported yesterday morning, though the fire remained uncontained, county fire department public information officer Andrew Dowd said.
