World's oceans hit hottest July temperature on record, scientists say

The European Union's Copernicus climate change service has reported that global sea surface temperatures outside the polar regions were the highest ever recorded for the month of July, surpassing the previous record set in 2023. The Atlantic coast and western Mediterranean saw particularly severe marine heatwaves and record-high readings.

Global air temperatures in July were just 0.01C cooler than in July 2024, making the two months jointly the second-warmest Julys on record. Western Europe experienced its hottest June-July period ever measured, running 2.79C above the historical average and beating a record set four years earlier.

Drought and energy strain

Central Europe saw national temperature records broken in several countries, including Austria and Slovakia. Persistently dry soil has lost its natural cooling capacity, allowing heat to intensify further. Low river flows caused by the drought have disrupted water supplies, irrigation and power generation — two coal-fired plants in Poland were forced to shut last week due to lack of cooling water, as was Hungary's only nuclear plant, for the first time in its 44-year history.

Scientists estimate that a brutal heatwave at the end of June may have caused more than 10,000 deaths. The economic toll has also been significant: June's heat alone is estimated to have cost grain farmers around €2bn in lost crops, while a new study warns that prolonged droughts can inflict far greater, longer-lasting damage on manufacturing and construction sectors.

Wildfires spread

About half a million hectares have burned across the EU so far this year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. Hot, dry and windy conditions are making blazes harder to fight, and experts warn that without adaptation measures, today's extremes could look mild compared with what lies ahead.