RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from The Times of Israel — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 4 sources
PARIS (AP) — The UK and France are bracing for the fifth heat wave of the season, adding to an intense stretch of hot weather that has repeatedly sent temperatures soaring across Europe since May.
National weather agency Météo-France is warning about temperatures approaching 40°C (104°F) from Tuesday onward in southeastern France. And in the UK, an amber heat health alert for most of England will be in place beginning Tuesday as temperatures are forecast to climb to 36°C (96.8°F) later this week.
Across Europe, the extreme heat began in May and has contributed to major wildfires, prolonged drought and new national temperature records, as well as thousands of projected heat-related deaths.
Globally, so far this is the third-hottest year, behind 2024 and 2025, climate statistics show. But 2026 still has time to catch up. Thanks to the one-two punch of accelerated human-caused global warming and a supersized El Niño — a periodic warming of parts of the Pacific that leads to temperature variations around the globe — there's an increasing chance that by the end of the year, 2026 could become the hottest year on record, scientists said.
Last month saw the highest average sea surface temperature ever recorded for July across the extrapolar oceans, or the oceans free of seasonal sea ice, according to the European climate agency Copernicus.
That was partially fueled by developing El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific, the service said. The new average record for July is 20.96°C (69.73°F), which beat the 2023 record of 20.8°C (69.60°F).
But last month's average surface air temperature globally was 16.90°C (62.42°F), making it only the joint second warmest July on record, tied with July 2024, Copernicus reported.
In Western Europe, meanwhile, the average temperature record for the June-July period hit 21.62°C (70.92°F), Copernicus said, toppling the 2022 record.
"Persistent high-pressure systems trapped heat over western Europe, the extreme temperatures also amplified widespread drought. As soils dry out, they lose their ability to provide natural cooling, allowing heat to build more readily," said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
"This is a clear example of how climate change is intensifying heat extremes, with heat and drought increasingly reinforcing one another."
In France alone, heat wave alerts were issued for the first time on record in May, when more than half the country recorded new monthly temperature highs. The heat intensified in June, a period during which at least 5,700 more deaths than usual were recorded, according to France's public health agency.
Météo-France said June 23 was the hottest day ever recorded in the country. Temperatures climbed as high as 44.3°C (111.7°F) in the southwest.
Two other heat wave episodes were recorded in July, amplifying a historic wildfire in southwestern France that forced 220,000 people to flee their homes in one of the continent's biggest evacuation efforts since World War II.
Temperatures were slightly cooler in the UK on Monday but the country readied for its fifth heat wave in an exceptionally hot and dry summer, with half of England and all of Wales plunged into drought.
The heat alert warns that significant impacts on health services, including a rise in deaths among older and vulnerable people, are likely.
Two record-breaking heat waves in May and June led to more than 2,800 excess deaths linked to extreme temperatures.
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism , please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE , as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.