Worldwide heatwave was the hottest June ever recorded as experts blame 45C European Saharan plume on climate change
JUNE was the hottest ever month on earth, shocking new data reveals.
Last month’s blistering European temperatures were 2C above normal on average as scientists blame global warming for a Saharan heatwave of more than 45C.
A record-breaking week of sunshine saw the UK’s temperatures rocket to 35C as experts fear climate change made the heatwave five times more likely.
The mercury rose 6-10C above average in France, Germany and Spain in June’s final days as the continent baked in hellish heat.
Jean-Noel Thepaut, head of EU’s satellite agency, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which released the data, warned of more summer infernos.
Mr Thepaut said: “Although local temperatures may have been lower or higher than those forecast, our data shows that the temperatures over the southwestern region of Europe during the last week of June were unusually high.
CLIMATE CHANGE
“Although this was exceptional, we are likely to see more of these events in the future due to climate change.”
France recorded its hottest ever temperature as the mercury rocketed to a scorching 45.9C.
Three swimmers died at beaches in separate incidents as the heatwave gripped last Wednesday.
In Spain, firefighters battled the biggest wildfires in 20 years as infernos ripped across the country and the heat hit in excess of 40C.
Temperature records haven’t just been broken. They have been obliterated. This is the hottest June on record in Europe by a country mile
Professor Hannah Cloke
Poland (38.2C) and Germany (38.9C) also saw their warmest ever June temperatures.
Rail tracks buckled on the north German coast with the Poland interior ministry revealing 90 swimmers drowned in June as they cooled off in lakes and rivers.
The heatwave was sparked by a 2,000 mile wide “Saharan bubble” blowing hot air from Africa to Europe, with Brits also melting in the hellish heat.
Dr Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, senior researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, said he was “very confident” the probability of a heatwave had risen by a factor of five because of climate change.
Heatwaves in June are around 4C hotter than they used to be, researchers found.
CS3 said 2019’s sweltering June came on top of a 1.5C rise in European temperatures in the last 100 years.
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Professor Hannah Cloke, natural hazards researcher at the University of Reading, said: “We knew June was hot in Europe, but this study shows that temperature records haven’t just been broken.
“They have been obliterated. This is the hottest June on record in Europe by a country mile, and the warmest June we have ever seen globally.”
She added: “Heatwaves occur in any climate, but we know that heatwaves are becoming much more likely due to climate change.”
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