From the normally mild summer climes of Ireland, Scotland and Canada to the scorching Middle East, numerous locations in the Northern Hemisphere have witnessed their hottest temperatures ever recorded over the past week.
Large areas of heat pressure or heat domes scattered around the hemisphere led to the sweltering temperatures.
No single record, in isolation, can be attributed to global warming. Collectively, however, these heat records are consistent with the kind of extremes expected from a warming world.
Let’s take a tour around the world of the recent hot-weather milestones.
North America
A massive and intense heat dome has consumed the eastern two-thirds of the US and southeast Canada since late last week.
It’s not only been hot but also exceptionally humid. Here are some of the notable all-time records set:
- Denver, Colorado, tied its all-time high-temperature record of 40.5C on June 28.
- Mount Washington, in New Hampshire, tied its all-time warmest low temperature of 15.5C on July 2.
- That same date saw Vermont's Burlington set its all-time warmest low temperature ever recorded of 27C.
- Montreal too recorded its highest temperature in recorded history of 36.6C on July 2. The city also experienced its most extreme midnight combination of heat and humidity.
Europe
Excessive heat torched the British Isles late last week. The stifling heat caused railway lines and roofs to buckle, the Weather Channel reported, and resulted in multiple all-time record highs:
- Scotland provisionally set its hottest temperature on record. The UK Met Office reported Motherwell, hit 33.2 Celsius on June 28, passing the previous record of 32.9C set in August 2003 at Greycrook.
- Additionally, Glasgow had its hottest day on record, hitting 31.9C.
- In Ireland, on June 28, Shannon hit 32C, its record.
- Over in the North, Belfast hit 29.5C on June 28, while the village of Castlederg hit 30.1C on June 29 - records both.
Eurasia
A large dome of high pressure, or heat dome, has persistently sat on top of Eurasia over the past week, resulting in some extraordinarily hot weather:
- Tbilisi, Georgia: on July 4, the capital city soared to 40.5C, its all-time record.
- Yerevan, Armenia: on July 2, the capital city soared to 42C, a record high for July and tying its record for any month.
- Meanwhile, several locations in southern Russia topped or matched their warmest June temperatures on record on June 28 - as England's footballers discovered against Belgium.
Middle East
- Quriyat, Oman, posted the world’s hottest low temperature ever recorded on June 28: 42.6C.
Washington Post
