Scientists in the EU say that June was the hottest on record for Western Europe.

Scientists from the EU confirmed on Thursday that Western Europe had just experienced the warmest June ever recorded. An extreme heatwave ended the month, which broke temperature records and disrupted electricity supplies. Schools were also closed.

In a monthly bulletin, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service C3S reported that June was the second warmest month on record. The planet also experienced its highest June sea surface temperature since records began.

The data showed that the average temperature for Western Europe in June was 20,74 degrees Celsius (69,3 degrees Fahrenheit), which is more than 3 C higher than the average of the period 1991-2020.

Copernicus defines this region as extending from Spain and United Kingdom to Italy, Germany, and a part of Austria. Western Europe is now experiencing three heatwaves, and Spain and Portugal are currently in the grip of another.

Samantha Burgess is the strategic lead at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The result is a warmer ocean and more intense heatwaves. This poses a growing risk to people, ecosystems, and infrastructure in Europe and beyond.

The heatwave in June caused more than 4,700 deaths in France (and possibly elsewhere), Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands. Other countries are likely to have a higher number. Intense heat also fueled wildfires and worsened drought conditions in Iberia, France, and Iberia.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, greenhouse gas emissions from coal, oil, and gas have raised the average temperature of the Earth to around 1.4 C higher than pre-industrial times. This higher baseline allows temperatures to reach higher peaks in heatwaves.

Joeri Rodelj, a climate researcher at Imperial College London, said that the'relationship' between global warming and heatwaves is as simple as it can be: on a warmer planet, heatwaves will increase in number, and intensity. C3S stated that a number of factors, including the strong El Nino weather pattern over the Pacific Ocean, were responsible for the record-breaking sea surface temperature in June. A scientific study found that El Nino did not play a role in Europe's heatwave of June, but climate change was a major factor.

C3S temperature records date back to 1940 and are cross-checked against global temperature records going back to 1850.

(source: Reuters)