Copernicus: 900 million endured hottest July on record in 2026

An analysis by the European Union's Copernicus climate program found that around 900 million people across Africa, Latin America and parts of Europe experienced the hottest July on record in 2026. The study examined billions of data points from the Copernicus ERA5 climate model and identified new monthly temperature records in 33 countries. Roughly 400 million of those affected live in Africa, including ten countries along the edge of the Sahara. Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia recorded average July temperatures more than two degrees above the 1991–2020 reference period. In Latin America, El Niño conditions contributed to record heat from Mexico to northern Brazil, affecting an estimated 110 million people. Europe was led by the United Kingdom, France and Spain, with French temperatures running 3.8 degrees above the same reference period. A wildfire in France's Gironde region burned through 42,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of more than 220,000 people, while Spain's Ávila province recorded the country's largest forest fire on record at nearly 44,000 hectares.