July was one of the hottest this year

During a heat wave that hit parts of Europe in mid-July, temperatures were measured above 40 degrees in parts of Portugal, Spain, France and Great Britain. In this connection, many local and national heat records were broken in the western and northern part of Europe.

Most of the land in the Northern Hemisphere had above average temperatures for the month. Elsewhere, temperatures were below normal, including large parts of Central Asia and much of Australia.

According to climate scientist Freyja Wamborg of Copernicus, as global temperatures continue to rise, we can expect more frequent and longer periods of very high temperatures.

– Heatwaves pose a serious risk to human health and can increase the intensity and lifespan of other catastrophic climate events such as wildfires and droughts that affect society and natural ecosystems, says Frieja Wamborg. A press release.

France’s driest July ever

July was drier than usual in large parts of Europe, North America, South America, Central Asia and Australia. Areas such as eastern Russia and northern China received above-normal rainfall.

Southern England had its driest July since records began in 1836, and the whole of England has not seen this amount of rain for more than 20 years.

France also recorded its driest July – and the second driest since records began in 1959, according to the country’s data. Institute of Metrology. A total of 9.7 millimeters of rain fell in France in July, an 85 percent decrease compared to the average for the 1991-2020 reference period.

– Dry conditions from previous months, combined with high temperatures and low rainfall levels in July, could negatively affect agricultural production, says Freyja Wamborg.

This could have negative consequences for other industries such as river transport and energy production.