Hottest July Globally in Recorded History - Globally, July 20XX marked as the third warmest in recorded history.
Record-Breaking Heat and Extreme Weather Events in July 2025
July 2025 saw an unprecedented surge in extreme weather events across the globe, with temperatures surpassing 50 degrees Celsius in the Gulf region, Iraq, and Turkey, marking the first time this milestone was reached in Turkey. This extreme heatwave caused significant health impacts and strained energy and water resources.
The European Union's Copernicus Earth Observation Programme, under the direction of Carlo Buontempo, has been closely monitoring these events. Buontempo stated on Thursday that while July 2025 saw a slight decrease in global average temperatures compared to the previous two years, with an average of 1.25 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level, it was still the third warmest July ever recorded.
Many countries in Asia and Scandinavia also reported new temperature records during this period. However, Buontempo emphasized that this does not mean that climate change has stopped. In fact, he warned that if CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere do not stabilize quickly, we can expect not only new temperature records but also an intensification of impacts.
The extreme weather events in July 2025 were likely exacerbated by climate change. Heatwaves, heavy rainfall and flooding, wildfires, and hurricanes were all more frequent and intense than usual.
Heatwaves in parts of Europe, North America, and Asia caused widespread health issues and strained energy and water resources. In Spain, over a thousand deaths were attributed to the heat.
Several regions experienced extreme rainfall events leading to severe flooding. South Asia and Central Europe reported torrential rains surpassing historical records, causing infrastructure damage and displacement of populations.
Wildfires continued to rage at concerning levels, particularly across southwestern North America, southern Europe, and Australia. Drought conditions combined with high temperatures fueled these fires, impacting air quality and ecosystems.
The Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons saw several rapid intensification events, with storms reaching higher categories more quickly, leading to devastating impacts in coastal areas.
These extreme weather events are directly related to human-induced climate change. Rising global temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions contribute to more frequent and intense heatwaves. Warmer air holds more moisture, enhancing heavy precipitation events.
Warmer ocean surface temperatures provide more energy for tropical storms and hurricanes, often causing more intense and destructive storms, with faster intensification. Climate change also disrupts atmospheric circulation patterns, contributing to prolonged and extreme weather episodes.
Higher temperatures increase evaporation rates, drying out soils and vegetation and thus increasing wildfire risk and severity, especially when combined with reduced rainfall in many regions.
In summary, the trends observed in July 2025 reflect ongoing shifts in weather extremes driven largely by human-induced climate change. These patterns underscore the urgent need for both mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation measures to manage the increasing risks posed by extreme weather globally.
The Commission has also been consulted on the draft regulation related to climate change, acknowledging the significant role of environmental science in understanding and mitigating its impacts, as demonstrated by the record-breaking heat and extreme weather events in July 2025. These weather events, which exacerbated heatwaves, heavy rainfall and flooding, wildfires, and hurricanes worldwide, are a direct consequence of science-backed predictions about climate change and its impacts on our environment.
