Ocean heat records broken as hottest July temperature recorded

Global oceans recorded their hottest July on record, partly fuelled by developing El Niño conditions, as wildfires continue to ravage western Europe.

US reports hottest month on record in July

The US's NOAA weather agency reported that the average July temperature was the warmest of any month in its 132-year record. This could be further exceeded in 2027 due to delayed effects from the El Niño phenomenon.

July was hottest month ever recorded in US as heatwaves scorched country

Scientists have made clear that the elevated heat in the US was being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis July was the hottest month ever recorded in the US, with repeated, scorching heatwaves across much of the country helping shatter all previous monthly temperature records stretching back over the full 132 years of reliable measurements. Last month’s average temperature was 3.3F (1.8C) higher than the 20th century average for the contiguous United States, which excludes Alaska and...

By Oliver Milman

Drought declared in ‘almost three-quarters’ of England, government says

Some 71.3 per cent of England is in drought, the UK government said on Monday, after the nation experienced its driest July on record, with a fifth heatwave and scant rain forecast for the week ahead. Parks and fields that are usually green at this point in the year were parched and yellow, according to Agence France-Presse photos, as river levels dwindled and farmers battling low crop yields warned of possible food shortages. “Almost three-quarters of England is now in drought as conditions...

By Agence France-Presse

UK drought latest: Almost three-quarters of England declared in drought after heatwaves and record dry weather

It follows the driest July in England and Wales since records began

By Dan Haygarth

Western Europe records hottest June-July period

Western Europe recorded its highest average temperature for June and July in 2026, according to data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, as repeated heatwaves and dry conditions affected France, Spain, Britain and other parts of the region. The average temperature across Western Europe during the two-month period reached 21.6°2C, 2.79°C above the long-term average. The figure surpassed the previous record set in 2022.