The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission with funding from the EU, routinely publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting on the changes observed in global surface air temperature, sea ice cover and hydrological variables. All the reported findings are based on computer-generated analyses using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world.
July 2022 surface air temperature:
- Globally, July 2022 was one of three warmest Julys on record, close to 0.4°C above the 1991-2020 reference period, marginally cooler than July 2019 and marginally warmer than July 2016
- Northern hemisphere land masses see predominantly well above-average temperatures
- Below average temperatures along the western Indian Ocean, from the Horn of Africa to southern India, over much of central Asia, as well as over most of Australia
- Joint sixth warmest July for Europe; heatwave brings local and national records to the western and northern parts of the continent
July 2022 sea ice:
- Antarctic sea ice extent reached its lowest value for July in the 44-year satellite data record, at 7% below average, well below the previous record
- The Southern Ocean saw widespread areas of below-average sea ice concentration from the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas to the northern Weddell Sea, as well as in most of the Indian Ocean sector
- Arctic sea ice extent was 4% below average, ranking 12th lowest for July in the satellite record, well above the low July values seen in 2019–2021
July 2022 – Hydrological conditions:
- · July 2022 was drier than average for much of Europe, with local low precipitation records broken in the west and drought in several locations of the southwest and southeast
- · These conditions affected the economy locally and facilitated spread and intensification of wildfires
- · It was also drier than average in much of North America, large regions of South America, Central Asia and Australia
- · Wetter-than-average conditions were especially noteworthy in eastern Russia, northern China, and a large wet band spanning from eastern Africa across Asia to northwest India
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reports on the prolonged heatwave seen starting in Portugal and Spain, continuing north and eastwards towards France, the United Kingdom, central Europe and Scandinavia. Temperatures measuring over 40°C were observed in parts of Portugal, Spain, France and the UK. Across the affected region, July and all-time records for maximum temperature were broken. The Iberian Peninsula saw an unusually large number of days with maximum temperatures above 35°C, underlining the longevity of hot temperatures in this region. For its regional average, southwestern Europe experienced its warmest July on record in terms of maximum temperatures.
Senior Scientist for the Copernicus Climate Change Service, Freja Vamborg, states: “We can expect to continue seeing more frequent and longer periods of extremely high temperatures, as global temperatures increase further. Heatwaves pose serious risks to human health, and they can increase the intensity and longevity of many other disastrous climate events including wildfires and droughts, affecting both society and natural ecosystems. Additionally, dry conditions from previous months combined with high temperatures and low precipitation rates seen in many areas during July may have adverse effects on agricultural production and other industries such as river transport and energy production.”
More information on a C3S analysis of the recent heatwave and the dry conditions affecting Europe can be found here.
Video material accompanying the maps can be found here.
More information about climate variables in July and climate updates of previous months as well as high-resolution graphics and the video can be downloaded here.
More information can be found here.
More information on the reference period used, can be found here.
Answers to frequently asked questions regarding temperature monitoring can be found here.
Information about the C3S data set and how it is compiled
Temperature and hydrological maps and data are from ECMWF Copernicus Climate Change Service’s ERA5 dataset.
Sea ice maps and data are from a combination of information from ERA5, as well as from the EUMETSAT OSI SAF Sea Ice Index v2.1, Sea Ice Concentration CDR/ICDR v2 and fast-track data provided upon request by OSI SAF.
Regional area average quoted here are the following longitude/latitude bounds:
Globe, 180W-180E, 90S-90N. overall surface.
Europe, 25W-40E, 34N-72N, over land surfaces only.
About Copernicus and ECMWF
Copernicus is a component of the European Union’s space programme, with funding by the EU, and is its flagship Earth observation programme, which operates through six thematic services: Atmosphere, Marine, Land, Climate Change, Security and Emergency. It delivers freely accessible operational data and services providing users with reliable and up-to-date information related to our planet and its environment. The programme is coordinated and managed by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with the Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), EU Agencies and Mercator Océan, amongst others.
ECMWF operates two services from the EU’s Copernicus Earth observation programme: the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). They also contribute to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS), which is implemented by the EU Joint Research Council (JRC). The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by 35 states. It is both a research institute and a 24/7 operational service, producing and disseminating numerical weather predictions to its Member States. This data is fully available to the national meteorological services in the Member States. The supercomputer facility (and associated data archive) at ECMWF is one of the largest of its type in Europe and Member States can use 25% of its capacity for their own purposes.
ECMWF has expanded its location across its Member States for some activities. In addition to an HQ in the UK and Computing Centre in Italy, offices with a focus on activities conducted in partnership with the EU, such as Copernicus, are in Bonn, Germany.
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service website can be found at http://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/
The Copernicus Climate Change Service website can be found at https://climate.copernicus.eu/
More information on Copernicus: www.copernicus.eu
The ECMWF website can be found at https://www.ecmwf.int/