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How record heat has spread to spots you wouldn’t expect

Areas in Siberia recorded temperatures at or near 100 degrees for the first time

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) (David Zalubowski, Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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.

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.


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