The announcement from the EU's Copernicus marks the latest in a series of record-breaking events that humans have witnessed over the past year, including drought in Spain and severe heatwaves in China and the US.
Beijing suffered a heatwave in late June, prompting authorities to issue warnings. Photo: AFP
"This month was the warmest June on record at more than 0.5 degrees Celsius above the average from 1991 to 2020, exceeding the previous record of June 2019 - by a significant margin," the EU watchdog said in a statement from its C3S climate unit.
Copernicus noted that temperatures hit records in June across northwestern Europe while parts of Canada, the US, Mexico, Asia and eastern Australia were "significantly warmer than normal".
On the other hand, the weather is cooler than normal in western Australia, the western US and western Russia.
It is the latest in a series of heat records in recent years that reflect the impact of global warming caused by greenhouse gases emitted by human activity.
Copernicus noted that global sea surface temperatures were higher than any previous June on record, with "extreme marine heatwaves" around Ireland, Britain and the Baltic.
Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest extent in June since satellite observations began, at 17% below average.
The June record was mainly due to "very warm ocean surface temperatures" in the Pacific and Atlantic caused by El Nino, a periodic warming phenomenon, C3S scientist Julien Nicolas told AFP.
Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the United Nations World Meteorological Organization, warned on Monday that El Nino "will significantly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and causing more extreme temperatures in many parts of the world and in the ocean."
He called on governments to "mobilise preparedness measures to limit the impacts on our health, ecosystems and economies".
In the US, local officials said last week that at least 13 people died from extreme heat in Texas and Louisiana.
China has issued its highest heat alert for northern parts of the country as Beijing swelters in temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius.
Following a record-breaking June in the UK, water restrictions have been imposed in parts of south-east England and Scotland putting areas on water scarcity alert.
The world has warmed by an average of nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius since the mid-1800s, causing extreme weather including more intense heatwaves, more severe droughts in some areas and more intense storms due to rising sea levels.
Mai Anh (according to AFP, CNA)
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