After hottest June on record, nations must brace for El Nino extreme weather

The EU-backed Copernicus Climate Change Service has announced that June 2023 was the hottest on record in terms of sea and air temperatures. This, as the UN weather agency warns governments to brace for the impact of El Nino climate phenomenon.

El Nino is the warm phase of the El Nino La Nina Southern Oscillation (ENSO) that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years. Getty Images/Science Photo Libra - JUAN GAERTNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBR

The Copernicus report released this Thursday said "[Last] month was the warmest June globally at just over 0.5°C above the 1991-2020 average, exceeding June 2019 – the previous record – by a substantial margin."

The body bases its findings on computer-generated analyses using billions of data from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world.

Copernicus said Europe experienced record temperatures during the month while parts of North America, Asia and eastern Australia were significantly warmer than usual for the time of year.

On the other hand it was cooler than normal in western Australia, the western United States and western Russia.

June #Hydrology highlights from #C3S.

Last month was:

💧 wetter-than-average over most of southern Europe, western Iceland and north-western Russia;
💧 drier-than-average across central and eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

For more 👉https://t.co/wSVtoLWb8y pic.twitter.com/CYzgggdehB

— Copernicus ECMWF (@CopernicusECMWF) July 6, 2023

Meanwhile, sea temperatures also rose to a new record in June due to longer term changes and in part due El Nino – a natural climate phenomenon that fuels tropical cyclones in the Pacific and boosts rainfall.

The report says "Exceptionally warm sea surface temperature anomalies were recorded in the North Atlantic ... Extreme marine heatwaves were observed around Ireland, the UK and in the Baltic Sea."

This comes as Antarctic sea ice ominously hit its lowest extent for the month since satellite observations began – at 17% below the average – and broke a previous record June low. 

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Governments urged to 'mobilise'

Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the UN's World Meteorological Organization, warned on Monday that El Nino "will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean."

He urged governments "to mobilise preparations to limit the impacts on our health, our ecosystems and our economies."

It was the hottest June on record globally, with record-high sea surface temperatures, especially in the Atlantic Ocean. Antarctic sea ice extent at unprecedented low values for the time of year, says @CopernicusECMWF monthly #StateofClimate report. pic.twitter.com/I8qlu0UZ2p

— World Meteorological Organization (@WMO) July 6, 2023

The world has warmed an average of nearly 1.2°Celsius since the mid-1800s, unleashing extreme weather including more intense heatwaves, more severe droughts areas and storms made fiercer by rising sea levels.

As well as withering crops, melting glaciers and raising the risk of wildfires, higher-than-normal temperatures also cause health problems ranging from heatstroke and dehydration to cardiovascular stress.