World sees third-warmest July with slight respite in temperatures

The world saw its third-warmest July on record in 2025 with a slight respite from the unprecedented heat of the previous two years, which still reflects the ongoing trend of global warming, said the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) on Thursday.

The global average surface air temperature in July 2025 was 16.68 degrees Celsius. It was 0.27 degrees Celsius cooler than July 2023 – the hottest July on record – and 0.23 degrees Celsius cooler than July 2024, the second-warmest. Still, it remained 1.25 degrees Celsius above the estimated pre-industrial level of 1850-1900.

The heat extended across continents. In Europe, the average land temperature reached 21.12 degrees Celsius last month, making it the fourth-warmest July on record for the continent.

Northern Europe saw the most intense anomalies, according to the C3S. The Fennoscandia region experienced Europe's most pronounced above-average air temperatures, with heatwave conditions especially affecting Sweden and Finland, while southeastern European countries endured heatwaves and wildfires.

Beyond Europe, below-average temperatures were recorded in parts of North America, South America, India, most of Australia and some regions in Africa and Antarctica, the C3S report said.

The climate change service also said that the sea ice coverage remained well below average at both poles. Arctic sea ice extent was 10 percent below normal, making it the joint second-lowest for July in the 47-year satellite record, while Antarctic sea ice extent was 8 percent below average, the third-lowest for the month.

"Two years after the hottest July on record, the recent streak of global temperature records is over for now. But this doesn't mean climate change has stopped," said Carlo Buontempo, director of the C3S.

Buontempo noted that the world continued to witness the effects of a warming climate in July, including extreme heat and catastrophic floods. He called for greater preparedness, warning that without the rapid stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, new temperature records and worsening climate impacts should be expected.

(Cover: Due to heat damage, a section of the autobahn is closed near Bensheim, Germany, July 3, 2025. /VCG)