From’India onAustralia pass Japan… The weather reports flowed in gradually this Friday and are similar in at least one way in these three countries: the last few months have been the hottest months ever recorded in this period.

We are talking about summer for Japan and India. The first occurred between June and August, the hottest average temperatures on record for the archipelago since the establishment of comparative statistics in 1898, the state meteorological agency (JMA) announced Friday.

In Japan, the minimum is also a record

In detail, “the average summer temperatures are significantly higher in the northern, eastern and western regions of the country,” continued JMA. “The anomaly of the average temperature in Japan, based on observations at 15 different locations, is +1.76°C, far exceeding the temperature in 2010 (+1.08°C), which was the highest on record” since statistics began being recorded in 1898 , the agency added in a statement.

In many parts of the country, not only maximum temperatures but also minimum temperatures have reached record highs, such as in the city of Itoigawa (center), where the minimum temperature reached 31.4°C on August 10, the highest temperature in August. . country, according to the JMA.

“Compared to years with very high average summer temperatures (2010, 2013, 2018, and 2022), the number of very hot days increased significantly since late July, the highest since 2010,” we can still read in the press release.

Meanwhile, India is experiencing its hottest and driest month of August since records began more than a century ago, India’s meteorological office said on Friday. The Indian agency details “the average and maximum temperatures in August 2023 were the highest since 1901”. season “.

The warmest winter on record in the southern region

Finally, winter in Australia is the hottest season on record, the country’s Bureau of Meteorology said on Friday. The average winter temperature in Australia is 16.75 degrees Celsius from June to August, slightly above the previous record set in 1996, said Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Simon Grainger. Australia’s first weather record dates back to 1910.

La Niña conditions has led to warm winters and cooler, wetter summers across much of Australia in recent years. According to Bureau of Meteorology data, the winter that ended Thursday had the second highest maximum temperature ever recorded, as well as some of the highest minimum temperatures.

Australian researchers have repeatedly warned that climate change is increasing the risk of natural disasters such as wildfires, floods and hurricanes. After several years of wet summers, experts predict next summer will be the most intense since 2019-2020. During this “dark summer”., a fire broke out on the east coast of Australia, destroying forests and millions of animals. Cities have been enveloped in toxic smoke.

A series of records that continues to grow

The new observations in these three countries expand on the string of records the world has broken as climate change intensifies. In July 2023 there was a heatwave and fires hit the whole world. It was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, according to the Copernicus climate observatory in the European Union. Greenhouse gas emissions cause heatwaves that are increasingly intense and last longer.

FP with AFP