After the hottest June on record and a string of extreme weather events, data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service’s ERA5* shows that the first three weeks of July have already broken several important temperature records. The rise in temperature has caused heat waves in Europe, North America and Asia, as well as forest fires in Canada, Greece and also in North Africa.
Temperatures in areas of Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey and North Africa have reached a level classified as “extremely extreme” in the EFFIS fire risk forecast. Several heat-related deaths have been confirmed in the United States, including migrants at the Mexico-US border. In Mexico alone, more than 200 people died due to extreme heat.
Many people in Italy and Spain, along with more than 100 million people in the southern United States, are on heat alert. This increase in temperature has led to higher energy consumption in these regions, and has also negatively affected vital crops, such as olive oil in Spain and cotton in China.
Rising temperatures across the Mediterranean region, coupled with strong winds, have created favorable conditions for a series of forest fires in North Africa, with Algeria and Tunisia being the most affected areas. The country that suffered the greatest consequences of the heat was Algeria, where more than 30 people were killed, including 10 firefighters, and about 1,500 people were evacuated in nearly 100 fires. Most of the fires were under control by July 26.
In Algeria and Greece, igneous radiative energy data reveal a clear peak on July 24, driven by extreme heat. In addition, Morocco also faced above-average forest fires, which began at the beginning of the month and continued until mid-July.
Fires in Greece
The high temperatures threaten Greece with the hottest heat wave ever, according to the authorities, and expectations indicate that there will be no relief in the coming days, which may lead to an increase in pollution. CAMS PM2.5 forecasts show continuing emissions in the coming days, with a particular spotlight on the island of Rhodes.
As revealed by the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, temperature-related wildfire emissions in Greece increased significantly on 17 July. In addition to the major forest fires that occurred in Attica, near Athens, smaller fires were also reported in different regions of the country, such as Evia and Corfu. These incidents occurred while the Mediterranean was experiencing an unprecedented heat wave.
Due to the high temperature, the total radiative energy of the fire was much higher compared to the average of the past 20 years. On that date, increasing temperatures and more dangerous forest fires appeared west of Athens and on the island of Rhodes, forcing nearly 20,000 people to evacuate their homes, according to information from the Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection.
According to CAMS GFAS records, carbon emissions from forest fires in Greece reached their highest levels in July, with a significant difference in temperatures compared to previous years. By July 25, more than 1 megaton of carbon had already been emitted.
Greece’s high-temperature wildfire season has recorded the largest burned area ever documented, with more than 35,000 hectares affected, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). The Copernicus Sentinel satellites captured images showing the extent and severity of the Greek wildfires, revealing the large fire scar in Attica on July 19, along with the temperature.
Key findings
Scientists from the Global Weather Attribution Initiative conducted research to assess the extent to which societally induced climate change has changed the likelihood and intensity of extreme July temperatures in these three regions. It is concluded that the impact of the heatwave is only noticeable after a few weeks, as it is necessary to wait for death certificates to be collected or for scientists to analyze excess deaths to get a clear view of the temperature-related consequences.
According to reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, heat waves have become common nowadays. North America, Europe, and China have seen an increase in the frequency of heat waves in recent years as a result of human-induced temperature increases and their temperature impacts.
Human-made climate changes have made these heat events more common. In China, the event would have occurred approximately once every 250 years, while in the US/Mexico and southern European regions, extreme heat, as seen in July 2023, would have been almost impossible were it not for global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions. and its effects on temperature.”