Climate & Environment
Record July heat hit 900 million people, AFP says
Regions home to around 900 million people had their hottest July on record in 2026, including parts of the Sahel, Central America, France and Spain, according to an AFP analysis of Copernicus data.
AFP said its analysis of Copernicus's ERA5 climate model found that 33 countries recorded their hottest July since records began. National weather agencies in countries including France and Spain separately confirmed record-breaking conditions.
Nearly 400 million of the people affected live in Africa, mainly in the Sahel, AFP said. Ten countries in the semi-arid belt across western and northern Africa broke July monthly heat records, including Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso. Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia also broke records in eastern Africa. AFP said Chad and Sudan recorded July temperatures more than 2C above the 1981-2010 average.
From Mexico to northern Brazil, about 110 million people experienced their hottest July on record, AFP said. El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras, in the Dry Corridor, set monthly temperature records in both June and July.
The World Food Programme said Central America is expected to be the region hardest hit by the relative increase in food insecurity. Including the Caribbean, the agency estimated that an additional 16 million people could face food insecurity by the end of 2027.
Nearly 120 million Europeans lived in regions where July 2026 was the hottest ever recorded, concentrated in southern Britain, western France and northern and eastern Spain, AFP said.
In France, average temperatures were 3.8C above the 1991-2020 normal. AFP said France and Spain also recorded drought levels that fuelled wildfires. It said a megafire in France's Gironde department burned nearly 42,000 hectares and forced more than 220,000 people to evacuate in late July, while Spain's largest wildfire in recent history scorched almost 44,000 hectares in Avila province near Madrid.
Spain's national weather agency AEMET separately said mainland Spain's average July temperature was 25.7C, 2.6C above the 1991-2020 reference period. It tied July 2022 as the warmest month in the agency's records since 1961. AEMET also said mainland Spain had its driest July on record, with 4.3 millimetres of rain, or 26 percent of normal precipitation for the time of year.
AFP said other smaller and more scattered regions, home to more than 250 million people combined, also experienced unprecedented July heat. They included China's Sichuan province, the US states of Wyoming and Colorado, and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution network warned in January that extreme heat episodes have become almost 10 times more likely since 2015, attributing the rise to human-driven climate change.
Update
AFP said a July megafire in France's Gironde department burned nearly 42,000 hectares and forced more than 220,000 people to evacuate.
AFP said Spain's largest wildfire in recent history scorched almost 44,000 hectares in Avila province, near Madrid.
AFP said smaller regions home to more than 250 million people, including Sichuan, Wyoming, Colorado, Sumatra and Borneo, also had unprecedented July heat.
AFP said Chad and Sudan recorded July temperatures more than 2C above the 1981-2010 average.
AFP cited World Weather Attribution scientists as warning in January that extreme heat episodes have become almost 10 times more likely since 2015 because of human-driven climate change.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 09:58:30 UTC.
Update
AEMET said mainland Spain's July 2026 average temperature was 25.7C, tying July 2022 as the warmest month in records since 1961.
AEMET said mainland Spain had its driest July on record, with 4.3 millimetres of rain, 26 percent of normal precipitation for the time of year.
AEMET said eight of Spain's 10 warmest Julys have occurred in the 21st century.
AEMET said Murcia reached 44.2C on July 23, the highest temperature in its main network last month.
The later item says Spain's largest wildfire in recent history burned more than 50,000 hectares and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 09:18:36 UTC.
Update
AFP's analysis says nearly 400 million of the roughly 900 million people affected live in Africa, mainly in the Sahel.
Ten Sahel-region countries broke July heat records, including Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia.
AFP's analysis says about 110 million people from Mexico to northern Brazil had their hottest July on record.
The World Food Programme said Central America is expected to be the region hardest hit by the relative increase in food insecurity and estimated that, including the Caribbean, 16 million additional people could face food insecurity by the end of 2027.
AFP's analysis says nearly 120 million Europeans lived in regions where July 2026 was the hottest ever recorded.
The item gives wildfire figures for France's Gironde department and Spain's Avila province.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 08:57:55 UTC.
Update
AEMET said mainland Spain's July average temperature was 25.7C.
AEMET said the figure was 2.6C above the 1991-2020 reference period.
AEMET said July 2026 tied with July 2022 as mainland Spain's warmest month since records began in 1961.
The item says high temperatures fuelled Spain's biggest wildfire in recent history.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 08:53:44 UTC.
Update
Spain's weather agency said July was Spain's hottest month on record.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 08:44:03 UTC.
Update
Regions including the Sahel, Central America, France and Spain were among those with record July heat in 2026.
AFP's analysis found that 33 countries recorded their hottest July since records began.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 08:32:59 UTC.
Update
An AFP analysis of Copernicus data found record July heat in regions home to 900 million people.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 08:22:39 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
AFP's country and population totals are based on analysis of Copernicus model data rather than national records in every country.
The World Food Programme figure is a forecast of possible food insecurity by the end of 2027.
Source
AFP news report published on .