00:00Global temperatures reached their second-highest level ever recorded for July.
00:04While Arras, the sea surface temperatures hit a new record for the month,
00:07according to the World Meteorological Organization.
00:10Western Europe experienced its hottest June-July period on record,
00:13with extreme heat continuing into August,
00:16and some countries facing their fourth heat wave since May.
00:21The WMO also reported record-breaking temperatures in Japan and South Korea,
00:27while parts of Asia and Latin America were also affected by extreme heat.
00:32Meanwhile, about 82% of the world's oceans experienced marine heat waves
00:38during the first half of the year.
00:40The agency also highlighted a surge in wet fires across Western Europe,
00:44with France and Spain recording particularly high activity,
00:47while severe fires were reported in the Western United States and Canada.
00:59Extreme heat is becoming more frequent, more intense,
01:02it's lasting longer and covering much wider areas than in the cooler climates of the past.
01:06Looking back in time, June 1976 is a really good example,
01:10because June 1976 had a very similar pattern of high and low pressure,
01:14warmer and cooler areas to this year.
01:17But the picture for 1976 is one of a few isolated areas
01:21of above-average temperatures in a much cooler world.
01:24And in 2026, the picture's reversed.
01:26It's one of a much warmer world with a few isolated areas
01:29of below-average temperatures.
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