This year is becoming the year of the heatwave, with record temperatures set in 17 countries.
Record highs have occurred in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine — the three nations at the center of the present eastern European heatwave that has continued for more than three weeks — but also many African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries.
Temperatures in Moscow, which have been consistently 20°C above normal, on Thursday fell to a more manageable 31°C. However, the extreme heat experienced there would barely have registered in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Niger, Pakistan and Sudan, all of which have recorded temperatures of more than 47°C since June. The number of record highs is itself a record — the previous record was for 14 new high temperatures in 2007.
The heatwaves, which have devastated crops and wildlife, are believed to have killed thousands of elderly people, especially in Russia and northern India. The 2003 European heatwave is known to have killed about 15,000 people.
Pakistan, now experiencing its worst ever floods, had the hottest temperature ever recorded in Asia on May 26, when 53.5°C was recorded in Mohenjo-daro, the Pakistani Meteorological Department said. In the US, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Washington, Baltimore and Trenton all recorded their highest ever temperatures in July.
The global research, collated by meteorologists at weather information provider Weather Underground, supports US government data that showed temperatures rising around the world since the 1850s. This June was the hottest ever on record and this year is on course to be the warmest year since records began, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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