PARIS – The world saw its hottest June on record, the European Union’s (EU) climate monitoring service said on Thursday, as climate change and the El Nino weather pattern looked likely to drive another scorching northern summer.

The announcement from the EU monitor Copernicus marked the latest in a series of records for a year that has already seen a drought in Spain and fierce heatwaves in China and the United States.

“The month was the warmest June globally, at just over 0.5 deg C above the 1991-2020 average, exceeding June 2019 – the previous record – by a substantial margin,” said Copernicus in a statement from its C3S climate unit.

Temperatures reached June records across north-west Europe, while parts of Canada, the US, Mexico, Asia and eastern Australia “were significantly warmer than normal”, it noted.

On the other hand, it was cooler than normal in western Australia, the western US and western Russia, it said.

‘Hottest day ever’

It was the latest in a series of heat records over recent years, reflecting the impact of global warming driven by greenhouse gases released from human activity.

Preliminary readings published on Wednesday by US meteorologists indicated that Tuesday was the hottest day ever recorded, based on data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centres for Environmental Prediction.

Copernicus noted that sea surface temperatures were higher globally than any previous June on record, with “extreme marine heatwaves” around Ireland, Britain and the Baltic.

Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest extent for June since satellite observations began, at 17 per cent below average.

C3S scientist Julien Nicolas said the June record was driven largely by “very warm ocean surface temperatures” in the Pacific and Atlantic due to El Nino, a periodic warming phenomenon.

“On top of that is this warming trend of the ocean absorbing 90 per cent of heat released by human activity,” he added.

The global temperature was 0.53 deg C above the 30-year average, at an average of 16.51 deg C, he calculated.

“June 2023 is way above the others. This is the kind of anomaly we are not used to,” Dr Nicolas said.

Mr Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the United Nation’s World Meteorological Organisation, warned on Monday that El Nino “will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean”.

He urged governments “to mobilise preparations to limit the impacts on our health, our ecosystems and our economies”.

Heatwave deaths

El Nino is a naturally occurring pattern associated with increased heat worldwide, as well as drought in some parts of the world and heavy rain elsewhere.

In addition, human activity – mainly the burning of fossil fuels – is continuing to emit roughly 40 billion tonnes of planet-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.

As well as withering crops, melting glaciers and raising the risk of wildfires, higher-than-normal temperatures also cause health problems ranging from heatstroke and dehydration to cardiovascular stress.

In the US, local officials said last week that at least 13 people died due to an extreme heatwave in Texas and Louisiana.

China issued its highest-level heat alert for its northern parts as Beijing baked in temperatures around 40 deg C.

After a record hot June in Britain, water-use restrictions were imposed in parts of south-eastern England, and Scotland put regions on water scarcity alert.

The world has warmed an average of nearly 1.2 deg C since the mid-1800s, unleashing extreme weather, including more intense heatwaves, more severe droughts in some areas, and storms made fiercer by rising seas. AFP