The second heat wave in two weeks in Southern Europe is baking Mediterranean nations and drawing resources from across the European Union to help, as officials warn that extreme weather has and will continue to cause worldwide effects.
Regions in Italy and Spain have seen days of triple-digit temperatures. In Greece, ongoing wildfires forced new evacuations and drew firefighting personnel and aircraft from across the European continent.
The European Union's meteorological office says June of 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded, and preliminary data shows the hottest single week ever measured took place in early July.
SEE MORE: Welcome to the hottest week ever recorded
WMO officials described the new temperatures as "uncharted territory," and warned that impacts are likely to extend into next year and across the globe.
Climbing temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, which are already exceeding their predictive models, may drive extreme weather events on multiple continents. Warming in the Atlantic can contribute to hurricane formation that threatens North America, and to heat waves, extreme rainfall and drought in Europe and Africa.
WMO officials called for immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. They warned the increasingly frequent extremes are already affecting human health, agricultural output and water supplies worldwide.
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