Western Europe Sees Warmest June on Record

Western Europe experienced its warmest June on record, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Thursday.

The average temperature in the region reached 20.74C, more than 3C above the June average for 1991–2020. Globally, it was the second-warmest June on record, while sea surface temperatures were the highest ever recorded for the month.

The end of June was marked by an intense heatwave that disrupted power supplies, closed schools, fueled wildfires in Iberia and France and worsened drought conditions.

National authorities reported more than 4,700 excess deaths in France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands during the heatwave, with the total across other countries likely to be higher.

Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal, oil and gas have raised the planet’s average temperature to about 1.4C above pre-industrial levels, making heatwaves more frequent and more intense.

Copernicus said other factors also contributed to record-high June sea surface temperatures, including the development of a strong El Niño weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean. El Niño did not contribute to Europe’s June heatwave, while climate change clearly worsened the extreme temperatures, according to a scientific study after the event.

(Reuters, mja)