Earth just had its hottest week. Current heatwave may break records again

July could turn out to be a landmark month for heat as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says it is watching temperatures for new records despite weeks of record-breaking heat already.

A heatwave engulfing the northern hemisphere this week is set to intensify, causing overnight temperatures to surge, it said Tuesday.

The WMO warned that expected temperatures in North America, Asia, North Africa and the Mediterranean could be above 40 Celsius “for a prolonged number of days this week as the heatwave intensifies.”

Last week, the organization said the global mean temperature between July 3 and July 9 was 17.18 C, making it the world’s hottest week on record, based on preliminary data.

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Now, the WMO says new records are possible in the coming days. The previous European high was 48.8 C reached in Sicily in August 2021 and the global record is 56.7 C from Death Valley, California in July 1913, it said.

“If there are any new extreme temperature records during the ongoing heatwaves, we will issue a quick preliminary assessment and then start detailed evaluations as part of our painstaking verification process,” said Randall Cerveny, WMO weather and climate extremes rapporteur, in a statement Monday.

“Climate change and temperature increase has spurred a surge in reports of record weather and climate extremes, especially for heat. We have to make sure that these records are verified for the sake of scientific understanding and accuracy.”

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The record temperatures are partly due to the onset of El Niño, according to the WMO, which is expected to fuel further heat on land and in the oceans and lead to more extreme heat waves; 2016 was another strong El Niño year.

Global temperature averages are determined by combining observations from satellites with computer model simulations, it added.

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The record temperatures in July come after June reached about 0.5 Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, according to a report from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. The high smashed the previous record for the month set in June 2019.

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Canada is no exception to the above-normal temperatures seen recently, said Anthony Farnell, Global News’ chief meteorologist.

He said records have recently been broken in the Northwest Territories, with temperatures reaching 37.9 C, the farthest north such a temperature has ever been recorded.

It beat the previous record by almost 3 Celsius, Farnell said.

Given that summer is just beginning, Farnell said he doesn’t see any place being immune to more heat records being broken.

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Panu Saaristo of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said that infants, the elderly, and people with chronic health conditions are at particular risk.

More than 60,000 Europeans may have died in last year’s heatwaves, according to experts, despite having some of the world’s best early warning systems.

The IFRC is phoning elderly people in Italy to check up on them, handing out drinking water in Greece and creating shelters for people affected by the wildfire on the Spanish island of La Palma, Saaristo said Tuesday.

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John Nairn, senior extreme heat advisor for WMO, told reporters in Geneva Tuesday that prolonged heat,  especially at night, is “particularly dangerous for human health.”

“The body is unable to recover from sustained heat,” he said.

“This leads to increased cases of heart attacks and death.”

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During extreme heat events, the Public Health Agency of Canada advises Canadians ofn several protective measures, including staying hydrated, wearing loose-fitting clothing, taking extra breaks from the heat and avoiding sun exposure when possible.

— with files from Global News’ Eric Stober and Reuters