Record June heat in North America and Europe linked to climate change

Global temperatures set new records during the month of June, which was the warmest June on record in North America and the fourth warmest for the world overall.

The unusual heat was revealed in satellite data from Copernicus Climate Change Service, part of an EU-wide programme, showing particularly extreme temperatures in the Russian Arctic, across the western US and Canada, and in parts of Europe.

Scientists have said that global warming contributed to the high temperatures. Climate change made the heatwave in North American 150 times more likely, according to research from the World Weather Attribution group.

The world has warmed about 1.2C on average since the middle of the 19th century.

The heatwave in western Canada and the western US claimed hundreds of lives. The village of Lytton, in British Columbia, reported a record high temperature of 49.6C and was largely destroyed by wildfire just a few days later.

In Europe, the month of June was the second warmest on record. The average temperature in central Helsinki was the highest since modern records began in 1844.

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