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Despite a weak La Nina event, which is supposed to have a cooling effect, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency based in Geneva, said Tuesday that this past July was among the warmest Julys on record globally, with extreme heat, drought, and wildfires in most parts of the world along with some floods.
The Antarctic ice was at its thinnest point ever for July.
Due to a severe heatwave that began around mid-July, surface temperatures across much of Europe during the month were around 0.4°C higher than average for the past 30 years, between 1991 and 2020. Southwest and western Europe experienced the highest above-average temperatures, according to WMO.
WMO spokesman Clare Nullis confirmed, saying, “We witnessed this in some locations, but not generally. July was one of the three warmest on record, slightly cooler than July 2019, warmer 2016 – but the difference is too close to tell.”
While England experienced its first-ever readings of 40°C, Portugal, western France, and Ireland set records for the month.
The national records for daily maximum temperatures were also beaten in Wales and Scotland.
Spain likewise saw the hottest July, with a national average temperature of 25.6°C. The most significant factor was a heatwave that occurred from July 8 to July 26 and was the strongest and longest on record.
Europe recorded its sixth warmest July, according to information from the Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Commission.
Further north and east, the heat spread, bringing extremely high temperatures to Germany and portions of Scandinavia. Local July records and all-time records were broken in various areas in Sweden.
The western Indian Ocean, from the Horn of Africa to southern India, much of central Asia, and the majority of Australia all saw below-average temperatures for the continents of Africa and Asia.
According to Copernicus Climate Change Service, the month featured wetter-than-average conditions in eastern Russia, northern China, and a broad wet belt that stretched from eastern Africa across Asia to northwest India.
Additionally, it controlled a region that extended from Iceland, through Scandinavia, the Baltic states, and on to the Caspian Sea.
A whole 7% below average, July also saw the lowest Antarctic Sea ice on record.
According to satellite measurements, Arctic sea ice was 4% below average and was the 12th lowest for July.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service, which the WMO quoted, reported that the concentration of sea ice in the Arctic was the 12th lowest ever in July according to satellite records that began in 1979.
“Brutal, brutal summer” has been experienced by glaciers, added Nullis.
“We started with poor snowfall on Alpine glaciers, as reported by meteorological services, and now Europe is experiencing a string of heatwaves. However, since there hasn’t been constant heat, the situation with Greenland’s glaciers is more complicated.
During a news conference on July 18, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas declared that “this kind of heatwave is the new normal” due to the intense heat.
