A man cools off at a fountain in Siena, Italy. (Photo: THX/TTXVN)
Data from Europe's Copernicus climate monitoring program shows that as many as 12 countries experienced their hottest June ever, while 26 others also experienced an unusually hot June, the second hottest in their meteorological history.
In total, some 790 million people across Europe, Asia and Africa are bracing for scorching heat, kicking off the summer with an undeniable reality: climate change is accelerating and becoming more devastating than ever.
A severe heatwave swept across Western and Southern Europe in late June. The Paris region and parts of Belgium and the Netherlands, which are not accustomed to high temperatures, suffer from sweltering heat.
In 15 countries, including Switzerland, Italy and the entire Balkan region, average June temperatures were 3 degrees Celsius above the 1981-2010 norm.
Spain, Bosnia and Montenegro recorded their hottest Junes on record, while France, the UK and several other countries also recorded their second-warmest Junes on record – a sign that heat is no longer the exception but the new normal for European summers.
In Romania, the National Meteorological Service (ANM) has extended the Red, Orange and Yellow warnings until the morning of July 9, as extreme heat continues to grip the country.
The capital Bucharest and 14 southern counties of the country are experiencing temperatures of 38-41 degrees Celsius during the day and 21-23 degrees Celsius at night.
The heat and humidity index has exceeded the dangerous threshold of 80 units, causing severe discomfort to the body. On July 6, the Romanian Road Infrastructure Authority imposed a temporary ban on vehicles weighing over 7.5 tons in Red Alert areas, due to the risk of road surface melting and safety loss.
This order does not apply to rescue vehicles, passenger transport, food and fuel. Temperatures are expected to ease in Romania from July 9.
In Asia, Japan recorded its hottest June since 1898, with record highs in 14 cities during the season's first heatwave. Coastal sea surface temperatures also rose by 1.2 degrees Celsius, matching the record for June 2024, the highest since records began in 1982.
As a result, Japan's summer of 2024 will be as hot as the record-breaking summer of 2023, followed by the warmest autumn in 126 years. Even cherry blossoms – the symbol of the “Land of the Rising Sun” – now often bloom early or cannot bloom because winter and autumn are not cold enough to trigger the flowering process.
South Korea and North Korea also saw their hottest June on record, with temperatures 2 degrees Celsius above average. In China, 102 weather stations reported their highest temperatures ever recorded in June, with some areas exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.
In the South Asian country of Pakistan with 250 million people as well as Tajikistan with 10 million people, June marked record high temperatures, following an unprecedented hot spring (from April to June).
Many Central Asian countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan could not escape the prolonged heat wave, turning spring into an early and fierce summer.
In Africa, Nigeria - the world's sixth most populous country with 230 million people - also witnessed June temperatures equaling last year's record heat.
Central and East African countries such as the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia had their second-warmest June on record, behind only last year.
In South Sudan, temperatures exceed the average by 2.1 degrees Celsius, an alarming figure for a region with a stable climate. The impoverished country, which has been struggling with unrest and natural disasters, experienced a heatwave in March that caused scores of students to faint in the capital, Juba, forcing the government to close schools and ask people to stay indoors.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned in May that: “Extreme weather and climate change are impacting all aspects of socio-economic development in Africa, while exacerbating hunger, insecurity and migration.”
This June has shattered all heat records across the continents. With the current rate and magnitude of temperature increases, what was once considered “abnormal” is becoming the “new normal.”
The world is facing not only heat but also serious economic, health, educational and environmental consequences, especially in poor countries where disaster response systems are still too fragile./.
According to VNA
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/the-gioi-oan-minh-voi-thoi-tiet-nang-nong-ky-luc-trong-thang-6-254298.htm
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