Record temperatures hit region of 900 million people in July

In July 2026, approximately 900 million people across various parts of the world spent their days enduring record temperatures. These areas include the African Sahel region, Central America, France, and Spain.

This information was reported by the news agency AFP, following an analysis of data from Copernicus.

Analyzing the vast data from the Copernicus ERA5 climate model shows that 33 countries experienced their highest temperatures ever recorded in July since record-keeping began.

Meteorological agencies in several countries, such as France and Spain, have also independently confirmed the record temperatures. However, many low-income countries do not regularly publish detailed climate data. Consequently, AFP analyzed Copernicus data to understand the global situation.

This data repository contains information from weather observation stations on land, sea, and in the air, using satellites, alongside climate model data. It provides hourly global weather information dating back to 1970.

Among the approximately 900 million people living in regions affected by record temperatures, nearly 400 million are Africans. A large portion of them reside in the Sahel region.

Ten countries in the Sahel broke previous temperature records for July. These countries include Mauritania, Niger, and Burkina Faso in the west, and Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia in the east.

Countries near the equator typically experience less temperature fluctuation compared to temperate regions. Even so, temperatures in July in Chad and Sudan were more than 2 degrees Celsius higher than the 1981-2010 average.

Scientists from the World Weather Attribution network warned in January this year that extreme heatwave events have become nearly ten times more likely since 2015. They cited human-induced climate change as one of the primary causes behind this.

Sahelian countries are among the most vulnerable to rising temperatures. Many of these nations are already struggling with armed conflicts, food crises, and widespread poverty.

A naturally occurring El Niño phenomenon began in June and is expected to peak towards the end of the year. Its impact has further escalated temperatures across wide areas of Central America and northern South America.

Roughly 110 million people in the region stretching from Mexico to northern Brazil and from the Pacific coast to the Guiana Highlands faced record temperatures in July.

In the "Dry Corridor"—comprising El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras—monthly temperature records were broken in both June and July. This has further heightened fears of a food crisis.

The United Nations World Food Programme reported last week that Central America could become the most severely affected region regarding escalating food crises. The agency estimates that an additional 16 million people, including those in the Caribbean, could face food insecurity by the end of 2027.

Approximately 120 million people in Europe live in areas where July 2026 was the warmest July since record-keeping began.

This record was observed in southern Britain, western France, and northern and eastern Spain.

In France, the average temperature for July was 3.8 degrees Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 normal temperature. Notably, the 1991-2020 average temperature was also significantly warmer compared to the pre-industrial era of 1850-1900.

France and Spain also set new records for drought, which intensified devastating wildfires.

In late July, wildfires in France's Gironde department burned approximately 42,000 hectares of land. During this time, more than 220,000 people were evacuated to safe locations.

Around the same time, one of the largest wildfires in Spain's recent history scorched about 44,000 hectares in the Ávila province near Madrid.

Additionally, unprecedented temperatures were observed in July in several other isolated regions, such as China's Sichuan province, Wyoming and Colorado in the United States, and Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia. Combined, more than 250 million people live in these areas.