Extract from ABC News
Extreme weather throughout July has caused havoc across the planet, with record temperatures in the United States, Europe and North Africa sparking forest fires, water shortages and a rise in heat-related hospital admissions.
The growing frequency and intensity of severe weather — both on land and in oceans — is symptomatic of global, human-driven climate change that is fuelling extremes, experts in the field say, with current heatwaves expected to persist through August.
Here's a look at how some of the hardest-hit areas around the Northern Hemisphere have been impacted by the current heatwave.
Florida
The surface ocean temperature in and around the Florida Keys soared to typical hot-tub levels this week, amid recent warnings from global weather monitors about the dangerous impact of warming waters on ecosystems and extreme weather events.
A water temperature buoy located inside the Everglades National Park in the waters of Manatee Bay hit a high of 101.19 degrees Fahrenheit (38.44 degrees Celsius) late on Monday afternoon, US government data showed, while other buoys nearby topped 38C and the 32C.
Normal water temperatures for the area this time of year should be between 23C and 31C, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which published the findings from the National Data Buoy Center.
The readings add to previous warnings over Florida's warming waters in the south-eastern United States as prolonged heat continued to bake other parts of the country.
Earlier this month, the United Nations' World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said global sea temperatures have reached monthly record highs since May, also driven in part by an El Nino event.
The WMO and NOAA say temperatures like those in South Florida can be deadly for marine life and threaten ocean ecosystems.
NOAA warned earlier this month that the warmer water around Florida could also supercharge tropical storms and hurricanes, which build more energy over warmer waters.
Rising temperatures are also severely stressing coral reefs, the agency said.
Arizona and Texas
On the other side of the country, Arizona's saguaro cacti, a symbol of the American West, are leaning, losing arms and in some cases falling over during the state's record streak of extreme heat.
Tania Hernandez, a research scientist at Phoenix's 57-hectare Desert Botanical Garden, says summer monsoon rains the cacti rely on have failed to arrive.
This has tested the desert giants' ability to survive in the wild, as well as in cities, after temperatures reached above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius) for 25 days in Phoenix.
Heat warnings were also issued this week for stretches of the desert south-west, in central Texas and north into the Midwest.
The Mediterranean
In Europe, large areas of the Mediterranean sweltered under an intense summer heatwave on Tuesday and firefighters battled to put out blazes across the region.
The heat, with temperatures topping 40C, is well in excess of what usually attracts tourists who flock to southern European beaches.
The high temperatures and parched ground sparked wildfires in countries on both sides of the Mediterranean.
Several dozen firefighters were using aircraft to battle a wildfire that had broken out close to Nice international airport in southern France.
In Croatia, flames came within 12 kilometres of the medieval town of Dubrovnik late on Tuesday.
Greece
Greece has been particularly hard hit by heat and wildfire, with temperatures in the country set to rise through Wednesday to exceed 44C.
Hundreds of firefighters, helped by forces from Turkey and Slovakia, have been battling blazes that have raged on the Greek islands of Rhodes, Corfu and Evia, while emergency planes have been flying out tourists.
The fires will deal a blow to a tourist industry that is a mainstay of the Greek economy.
It accounts for 18 per cent of gross domestic product and one in five jobs, with an even greater contribution on islands such as Rhodes.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told ministers on Tuesday that the next few days would be difficult, with conditions possibly improving after Thursday.
Mr Mitsotakis said his country was one of those on the front line against climate change, with no easy solution.
"I will state the obvious: in the face of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate change hot-spot, there is no magical defence mechanism, if there was we would have implemented it," Mr Mitsotakis said.
Italy
Italy suffered a twin pounding from the elements when severe storms battered the north, killing a woman and a 16-year-old girl scout, while southern regions sweltered.
In the south, a bedridden 98-year-old man died when fire swept through his home.
Italian hospitals in the regions worst hit by soaring temperatures are seeing a jump in heat-related emergencies, medics have said.
Algeria and Tunisia
A major heatwave is also sweeping across North Africa, with temperatures of 49C recorded in some cities in Tunisia.
Neighbouring Algeria was fighting to contain devastating forest fires along its Mediterranean coast in a blaze that has already killed at least 34 people.
Fanned by strong winds, fires also forced the closure of two border crossings with Tunisia.
Syria
Wildfires also broke out in the countryside around Syria's Mediterranean port city, Latakia, with the authorities using army helicopters to try to put them out.
Reuters/ABC
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