Capturing on Camera: Unrelenting Global Heatwave Sets New Records

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The world is held tight in the unforgiving grasp of a heatwave.

Phoenix continues to outdo its own series of searingly hot days, South Europeans and holidaymakers alike endure near-record-breaking temperatures, and certain regions in the Middle East are pushing the boundaries of human heat tolerance.

Southern Europe is also experiencing devastating wildfires, with Greece, in particular, seeing highways closed and evacuations forced. People were able to return to their homes on Tuesday when a fire finally began to subside after spending the night on beaches, in hotels, and public spaces.

The heatwave is expected to intensify in the coming days.

The sweat-streaked face of Juan Carlos Biseno is a testament to the extreme heat as he dances to music from his headphones in Calexico, Calif., on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

People from Lebanon to Spain to Turkey, even those accustomed to high temperatures, sought refuge in shade and water to escape the unusually fierce summer heat.

In Israel, there was a lighter moment as beach-goers donned mermaid tails.

This past June was officially the hottest ever recorded, and July is predicted to surpass it. For the majority of the month, the world has experienced record-breaking heat, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer.

Burning of fossil fuels, namely coal, oil, and natural gas, are causing the Earth to warm up, increasing the average temperature by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) compared to pre-industrial times. This has resulted in more record-breaking heat and extreme weather events worldwide.

Several images capture this heatwave, including a tourist using a fan inside Stoa of Attalos, Athens (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris), tourists seeking relief from the heat near a fan at Rome’s Colosseum (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia), and a shipyard on fire in Mandra, west of Athens (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris).

Photos also highlight individuals responding to the heat, such as Maribel Padilla from the Brown Bag Coalition providing cold, wet towels to the homeless in Calexico (AP Photo/Gregory Bull), an umbrella-hatted man seeking shade in Istanbul (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra), and a woman cooling her dog off in the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar).

Finally, burnt cars after a fire in Mandra (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis), people seeking coolness in a mountain river in Iran (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi), and a girl drinking from a public fountain in Madrid (AP Photo/Paul White) capture the reality of the heatwave’s impact.

Several private foundations support Big Big News’ climate and environmental coverage. More about AP’s climate initiative can be found here. AP holds sole responsibility for all content.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Global Heatwave

More about Global Heatwave

• University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer
• AP’s climate initiative
• Climate Change and Global Warming
• Heatwaves and Global Warming: Connection Explained
• The Impact of Fossil Fuels on the Environment