WMC Warns of Intensifying Heatwaves Across Continents

The World Meteorological Centre (WMC) in Beijing has issued a global alert for intense heatwaves expected to hit several regions — including Pakistan — starting next week.

The warning follows new data from European climate scientists showing that July 2025 was the third-hottest July ever recorded, continuing a years-long pattern of extreme global temperatures.

“Two years after the hottest July on record, the latest streak of record-breaking months has ended,” said Carlo Buontempo, Director of the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. “But that doesn’t mean climate change has slowed. We are still seeing the impacts of a warming planet, from severe heatwaves to destructive floods.”

Extreme Weather Events in July

Last month brought heavy flooding to Pakistan, India, and China, while wildfires ravaged Canada, Scotland, and Greece amid prolonged drought. Many parts of Asia and Scandinavia also recorded new all-time high average temperatures for July.

Heatwave Forecast

According to the WMC, the past week has seen sustained temperatures above 38°C in West Asia, southern Central Asia, western South Europe, North Africa, Pakistan, southeastern India, central and southern Japan, the southwestern United States, and northern Mexico.

In certain areas — including southern Pakistan, southwestern Iran, and eastern Iraq — temperatures climbed above 45°C, with some local readings exceeding 50°C. The agency predicts that the ongoing influence of a subtropical high-pressure system will prolong these extreme conditions.

Over the coming week, most affected regions are expected to experience maximum temperatures between 38°C and 40°C, with peaks above 45°C possible in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, western and southern Iran, the southwestern United States, western Algeria, and northern Mauritania.

Ocean Heat Records & Melting Ice

July 2025 also ranked as the third-warmest July on record for global sea surface temperatures. Specific regions, including the Norwegian Sea, parts of the North Sea, and the North Atlantic west of France and Britain, recorded unprecedented warmth.

Arctic sea ice coverage was 10% below the long-term average, the second-lowest July extent in 47 years of satellite monitoring, nearly matching 2012 and 2021 levels. In the Southern Hemisphere, Antarctic sea ice reached its third-lowest July extent on record.

Scientists warn that shrinking sea ice accelerates global warming, as reflective ice surfaces are replaced by heat-absorbing ocean waters. With 90% of excess heat from global warming absorbed by oceans, rising sea temperatures are likely to intensify future extreme weather events.

Eleven countries — including China, Japan, North Korea, Tajikistan, Bhutan, Brunei, and Malaysia — experienced their hottest July in at least 50 years.