Heat, drought and wildfires during one of the warmest Julys on record– WMO |
Based on World Meteorological Organization (WMO), temperatures are close to 0.4℃ above the 1991-2020 average across most of Europe, with southwestern and western Europe being the areas above the highest average, as intense heat wave around mid-July.
WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis explains: “This is despite the fact that La Niña has had a cooling effect.
“We’ve seen this in some places, but not globally,” she added, noting that it was “one of the three warmest places in the world. [Julys] record, slightly cooler than July 2019, warmer than 2016- but the difference is too close to call “.
Record temperature
Portugal, western France and Ireland broke records, while Britain hit 40℃ reads for the first time.
All-time national records for maximum daily temperatures were also broken in Wales and Scotland.
Spain also had its hottest month on record in July, with a nationwide average of 25.6°C – with the July 8 to 26 heat wave being the hottest and longest. in the record.
Using data from the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, United Nations weather agency confirmed that Europe had the warmest Friday in July.
The heat spread further north and east causing very high temperatures across other countries, including Germany and parts of Scandinavia, with local records for July and all time broken. broke at several locations in Sweden.
Abnormal temperature
Simultaneously, from the Horn of Africa to southern India, and much of Central Asia to most of Australia, temperatures were below average.
It also dominates a swath of territory that stretches from Iceland, through Scandinavia through the Baltic countries, continuing as far as the Caspian Sea.
Furthermore, temperatures are often below average in Georgia and throughout Türkiye.
Ice shrink pole
July also saw the lowest amount of ice in the Antarctic Sea on record, 7% below average.
Ice in the Arctic Sea is 4% lower on average, ranking 12th lowest in July according to satellite records.
WMO cites the Copernicus Climate Change Service as saying that Arctic Sea ice concentrations were the lowest in July according to satellite records, starting in 1979, and sea ice there was the 12th lowest ever.
Glaciers have seen a “brutal, brutal summer” Miss Nullis continued.
“We started with low snow cover on the glaciers in the Alps, reported by meteorological services, and now consecutive heat waves – this is bad news for glaciers in Europe. However, the picture for Greenland’s glaciers is more mixed because the heat hasn’t subsided.”
In the context of intense heat, WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas said A press conference on July 18, “this kind of heatwave is the new normal”.