Regions home to roughly 900 million people experienced their hottest July on record in 2026, according to a detailed climate analysis of European Copernicus data. Thirty-three countries recorded their highest July temperatures since records began, impacting populations across Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
### Global Temperature Anomalies Across Populations
The global analysis, which relies on billions of data points from the Copernicus ERA5 climate model, highlights widespread extreme heat during the month. According to data released by Copernicus, the dataset combines satellite observations, weather stations, and climate modeling to provide hourly global coverage.
National meteorological agencies confirmed the trend within their borders. According to analyses by Météo-France and Spain’s AEMET, France and Spain independently verified record-breaking conditions, though many lower-income nations do not publish detailed climate data.
### Severe Heat Impacts Across the Sahel Region
Nearly 400 million of the affected population live in Africa, primarily concentrated within the Sahel region. According to climate findings, 10 countries in the region broke their monthly heat records for July, including Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
Chad and Sudan recorded July temperatures more than 2 degrees Celsius above the 1981–2010 average. Scientists from the World Weather Attribution network warned in January that episodes of extreme heat have become almost 10 times more likely since 2015, attributing the rise to human-driven climate change. These impacts compound existing challenges in the Sahel, where populations face armed conflict, widespread poverty, and food insecurity.
### Drought and Wildfires Devastate Western Europe
Nearly 120 million Europeans lived in regions where July 2026 was the hottest ever recorded, with peaks centered in southern Britain, western France, and northern and eastern Spain. According to French weather authorities, average temperatures in France reached 3.8 degrees Celsius above the 1991–2020 normal.
The extreme heat coincided with severe drought conditions that triggered massive wildfires. In France’s Gironde department, a megafire burned nearly 42,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of more than 220,000 people. Simultaneously, Spain recorded its largest wildfire in recent history, scorching almost 44,000 hectares in Avila province near Madrid.
### El Niño Amplifies Central American Heat and Food Insecurity
The naturally occurring El Niño climate pattern, which began in June, amplified temperatures across Central America and northern South America. Approximately 110 million people from Mexico to northern Brazil experienced their hottest July on record.
Nations located within Central America’s “Dry Corridor,” including El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras, set monthly temperature records in both June and July. The United Nations World Food Programme warned that Central America is expected to be the region hardest hit in terms of the relative increase in food insecurity, with an estimated 16 million additional people across the region and the Caribbean potentially facing food insecurity by the end of 2027. Additional localized records were also documented in China’s Sichuan province and the US states of Wyoming and Colorado.