The World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday that July was the second warmest on record worldwide, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, a European Union initiative. Average surface air temperatures were 1.47°C above the estimated pre-industrial baseline, while sea-surface temperatures were the highest ever recorded for the month of July.
Multiple regions are contending with extreme heat, drought, wildfires and other severe weather. WMO Spokesperson Clare Nullis said meteorological services, emergency response teams and health professionals "are really working tirelessly because of all the extreme weather that we are seeing." She noted that extreme weather extended beyond heat to include heavy rainfall and tropical cyclones.
Western Europe experienced its hottest June–July period on record, with some countries including Switzerland and France facing their fourth heatwave of the summer. John Kennedy, WMO's head of climate information, said low rainfall and heat had contributed to drought, low river levels and increased wildfire risk, affecting major European rivers such as the Seine, Rhine and Danube. Wildfire activity intensified in July, with France's year-to-date fire emissions comparable to or higher than levels during the extreme fire years of 2022 and 2023.
Heat records were set beyond Europe. Japan, the Republic of Korea, parts of Asia, the Middle East and Latin America all recorded exceptional and record-breaking temperatures. North America saw fires raging in parts of the western United States, while Canada had 591 active fires as of Monday, with 43 classified as out of control.
Heavy monsoon rainfall and flooding affected other regions. WMO warned of flash floods and landslides across northeast and western India, eastern Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and parts of Southeast Asia. China carried out mass evacuations ahead of Typhoon Dolphin, the 13th of the season, amid warnings of dangerous flooding.
Kennedy said recent extremes reflected "the combined effect of long-term warming with a persistent pattern of alternating high and low-pressure systems stretching across the northern hemisphere." With El Niño now established in the Pacific, WMO expects further rises in global temperature, with peaks typically occurring between November and January. Nullis stressed that the Early Warnings for All initiative "remains the overriding priority" as WMO and its member countries work to improve forecasts and early warnings.
