The hotter-than-normal temperatures around the world so far this summer has gained a lot of attention, so much so that even the United Nations is pointing it out.
The World Meteorological Organization, an agency of the UN, said the first week of July was the hottest week on record for the planet as a whole.
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Here are some places around the world where the heat has notably had a bigger effect than normal in the past month or so. All temperature measurements listed below are Fahrenheit.
- In Siberia, typically one of the world’s coldest spots, a record-high temperature of 100 degrees was recorded on June 3 in Jalturovosk. The towns of Alexandrovskoe (95 degrees) and Laryak (93 degrees) also experienced record highs in June.
- Muong La in Vietnam had a record-high of 111 degrees on June 1.
- Hong Kong had a record-high of 100 degrees also in June.
- In Europe, temperatures this week were expected to hit as high as 104 degrees in parts of Spain, France, Greece, Croatia and Turkey, according to a BBC report.
- Phoenix, Arizona is currently mired in an unprecedented streak of the daily high temperature being at least 110 degrees.
Sea ice concerns in Antarctica
The summer is the coldest time of year for the southern hemisphere, most notably Antarctica.
Given that, environmentalists are concerned about how the amount of sea ice that normally forms this time of year is lower than usual.
The level of sea ice coverage is about 10 million square kilometers so far this year, which is lower than the 12 million square kilometers that is normally covered this time of year.
Portions of Antarctica have warmed five times faster than the global average.
Wildfires continue to burn in Canada
Higher global temperatures have contributed to the raging wildfires in Canada that have destroyed forestry at a record level and caused air quality issues throughout the United States and Europe.
Fires have burned more than 20 million acres and it’s considered to be Canada’s worst fire season in modern history, one that is expected to continue throughout the summer and into the fall months and cause further air quality alerts.