The first week of July was the hottest ever recorded, according to the UN’s weather organisation, warning of the effects on ecosystems of high temperatures caused by human-induced climate change at the start of the El Niño weather pattern.
"The world just had the hottest week on record," the World Meteorological Organisation said in a statement after recording the warmest June on record.
Record temperatures on land and in the oceans – with sea surface temperatures reaching “unprecedented” levels – will have “potentially devastating impacts on ecosystems and the environment”.
Higher-than-normal temperatures affect crops, increase the risk of wildfires and melt glaciers, but also cause human health problems, ranging from heatstroke and dehydration to cardiovascular stress.
In Europe, more than 61,000 people died due to the heat during last year’s record-breaking summer, according to new research published Monday.
Climate change
The heat in the North Atlantic is caused by short-term weather patterns and “longer-term changes in the oceans”, the WMO said, referencing Europe's climate monitoring service Copernicus.
The rising temperatures come at the start of the El Nino, a naturally-occurring weather pattern that drives increased heat worldwide, with drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere.
El Nino is just starting in the tropical Pacific Ocean, according to the WMO, and is expected to raise temperatures later in the year and into 2024.
"We are in uncharted territory and we can expect more records to fall as El Niño develops further and these impacts will extend into 2024," WMO Director of Climate Services Christopher Hewitt said at a press briefing.
Impacts worldwide
In Europe, Spain is bracing for a second heatwave in a matter of weeks, with temperatures set to reach 44 degrees Celsius in the south.
Marshland in southern Iraq is suffering its worst heatwave in 40 years, and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization warned Monday of a "devastating impact" on the ecosystem as well as local farmers and fisheries.
In North America, the Canadian Ministry of Natural Resources last week said the number of wildfires in the country was "off the charts", with 670 recorded on Friday, with smoke affecting more than 100 million people in Canada and neighbouring United States.
The US state of Texas is experiencing a prolonged "heat dome" in which warm air is trapped in the atmosphere like a convection oven.
(with newswires)
