The World Meteorological Organization recently stated that extreme heatwaves are affecting a large number of people worldwide, with wildfires and air pollution exacerbating the impacts. This highlights the importance of improving early warning systems and promoting heat health action plans.
The WMO issued a bulletin the same day stating that data from multiple meteorological agencies indicate that global heatwaves have been frequent recently, with record-breaking temperatures in many regions. According to data released by the European Union's climate monitoring agency, July 2025 was the third-warmest July on record, with the average sea surface temperature also being the third-highest.
In Europe, Sweden and Finland experienced unusually long spells of temperatures exceeding 30°C in July, while Southeastern Europe also experienced heatwaves and wildfires. Furthermore, July temperatures in China, Japan, and other regions were significantly above average.
The bulletin data showed that last week, high temperatures exceeded 42°C in parts of West Asia, southern Central Asia, much of North Africa, southern Pakistan, and the southwestern United States, with some areas exceeding 45°C. Local highs exceeded 50°C in southwestern Iran and eastern Iraq, leading to power and water outages and school closures. Forecasts indicate that the heat wave will continue to ravage the aforementioned regions over the next week.
Omar Badour, head of climate monitoring at the World Meteorological Organization, said the combination of extreme heat near the surface and cold air aloft could lead to extreme rainfall and devastating flash floods in high-altitude areas, further impacting livelihoods and infrastructure, and possibly causing landslides.
The communiqué also noted that extreme heat is fueling devastating wildfires. Wildfires in Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey have forced people to flee their homes and resulted in multiple deaths. From late July to early August, hundreds of wildfires in Canada deteriorated air quality in several provinces and northern states of the United States.
The communiqué stated that the World Meteorological Organization is committed to improving early warning systems related to heatwaves and is working with partners at all levels to advance the Heat Health Action Plan.
