(Bloomberg) — The world recorded its hottest day on record as much of the Mediterranean faces extreme wildfire danger.
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The planet recorded its warmest average temperature on Sunday, breaking the previous record set a year ago, according to provisional data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Global average temperatures have already reached or exceeded key climate thresholds over the past 12 months, highlighting the challenge of limiting global warming to below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Climate change is causing more frequent and intense heatwaves and more extreme weather events, from floods to wildfires.
Global warming is causing temperatures to rise in southern Europe, with Greece seeing temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius for the past two weeks, raising the threat of wildfires even further.
Firefighters are battling two fires near Markopoulo, southeast of Athens, and wildfires threatening villages in central and northern Greece. Cooler temperatures will provide some relief this week, but temperatures are expected to top 39°C (102°F) in parts of the mainland on Tuesday.
In contrast, severe thunderstorms caused flooding in the central city of Larissa, and hail damaged nearby apple and pear orchards.
Spain is also at extreme risk of wildfires this week as temperatures soar in the south, with temperatures approaching 43°C (102°F) on Wednesday in Seville and Córdoba, according to Spanish weather forecasting agency AEMET. There is also a risk of wildfires in southern France and parts of Italy.
Further north, Berlin and Paris are expected to experience heatwaves in early August, with the average temperature in the German capital forecast to rise to 28°C on August 6, 8°C higher than the average over the past 30 years.
Extreme heat has already wreaked havoc on many sectors of the global economy this year, causing disruptions to everything from air transport to power grids.
According to Copernicus, the average temperature for the year to June 2024 will be 1.64°C higher than the period from 1850 to 1900. Last month was the hottest June on record, marking the 13th consecutive year that a new monthly average temperature record has been set.
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The Paris Agreement, enacted in 2015, aims to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial averages, and ideally to 1.5°C.
(Updates with latest Greek fire news in 5th paragraph)
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