This summer has incinerated all previous records, becoming the hottest documented globally.

Temperatures soared to unprecedented levels, driven by a potent combination of climate change and a robust El Niño event.

July 2024 stood out as the hottest month ever recorded, with scorching heat waves hitting Europe, North America, and parts of Asia particularly hard. This extreme heat has caused severe droughts, intensified wildfires, and strained water supplies, leaving communities scrambling to cope.

This summer as a whole was the hottest, Copernicus Climate Change Service, Carlo Buontempo said.

“It’s really not surprising that we see this, this heat wave, that we see these temperature extremes,” Buontempo said. “We are bound to see more.”

The summer’s blistering temperatures have also reignited debates on climate policy, with upcoming international conferences set to tackle the pressing issue of global warming.

As the summer season ends, the record heat is emblematic of the pressing need for intensified global efforts to combat climate change.