From front-page news to powerful moments you may have missed, this gallery features compelling images from around the world published by The Associated Press in July.
A U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Punch, a young Japanese macaque, plays at Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden in Ichikawa, east of Tokyo, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
An Armed Forces Body Bearer Team moves the casket of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., upon arrival for a Congressional tribute in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
A health worker, wearing protective gear, stands outside the Ebola Treatment Center at the Bunia General Hospital in Ituri, Congo, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)
Peru's President Keiko Fujimori walks to the presidential palace after her inauguration in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
An attendee speaks at a candlelight vigil where a Madison police officer shot and killed a man Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
A woman caresses her pet dog at an emergency shelter set up in the Bordeaux Exhibition Centre in Bordeaux, France, for those that had to leave their homes outside town due to the raging wildfires, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Caroline Blumberg)
Seen in a long exposure photograph, the Bench Fire burns above the Pelton Reservoir in Jefferson County, Ore. on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Palestinians evacuate an injured man following an Israeli military strike, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
With a backdrop of the Space Needle, candles are seen lighted during the vigil for victims the day after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival, Monday, July 27, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
From left to right, Christine Wonsley cries next to her Husband Elmore, and their sons Elmore Jr. and Ethan during a memorial service for her son Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old found dead after taking a July 4 boat trip with friends, Monday, July 20, 2026, in Ocean Springs, Miss. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A Palestinian scans a valley with a flashlight as people gather around a bonfire during a volunteer night watch to help prevent Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank town of Sinjil, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Spain's Lamine Yamal (19) and Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) embrace after during the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, rides past the Arc de Triomphe during the last stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start and finish in Paris, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Police officers stand near a vehicle crashed into a tree after driving into a crowd near Berlin's annual Pride event, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
People gather outside the Brandenburg Gate for a demonstration in support of LGBTQ+ after a car rammed into a crowd at the Pride March in Berlin, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Artwork by Cuban Osmany Betancourt stands on exhibit in Havana Bay where the Astral ship from the Spanish humanitarian organization Open Arms arrives, in Cuba, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Princy Tamang, a former HIV outreach worker who turned to sex work to survive after losing her job amid the U.S. foreign aid cuts, poses for a portrait, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Hetauda, Nepal. Tamang, who has endured beatings from clients and has been forced to have sex without condoms since transitioning to sex work, fears she will contract HIV. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)
Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party scuffle with police as they attempt to march toward India's Parliament, demanding the resignation of the education minister, in New Delhi, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)
FILE - Elderly Liudmyla Tsapkova sits in her damaged apartment after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk, File)
Migrants return to Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)
Mahasen Faqih is seen through a shattered glass door as she checks her home, destroyed during the Israeli military operation, after returning to it in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Volunteers pull a rope to remove a debris from a collapsed building by earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Firefighters use controlled burning to halt a wildfire that continues to spread near Cebreros, Ávila province, Spain, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Debris is seen in front of a damaged house after a tornado struck Monday, July 27, 2026, in Menasha, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
President Donald Trump, right, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members recently killed in the Middle East, at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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A U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Punch, a young Japanese macaque, plays at Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden in Ichikawa, east of Tokyo, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
An Armed Forces Body Bearer Team moves the casket of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., upon arrival for a Congressional tribute in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
A health worker, wearing protective gear, stands outside the Ebola Treatment Center at the Bunia General Hospital in Ituri, Congo, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)
Peru's President Keiko Fujimori walks to the presidential palace after her inauguration in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
An attendee speaks at a candlelight vigil where a Madison police officer shot and killed a man Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
A woman caresses her pet dog at an emergency shelter set up in the Bordeaux Exhibition Centre in Bordeaux, France, for those that had to leave their homes outside town due to the raging wildfires, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Caroline Blumberg)
Seen in a long exposure photograph, the Bench Fire burns above the Pelton Reservoir in Jefferson County, Ore. on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Palestinians evacuate an injured man following an Israeli military strike, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
With a backdrop of the Space Needle, candles are seen lighted during the vigil for victims the day after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival, Monday, July 27, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
From left to right, Christine Wonsley cries next to her Husband Elmore, and their sons Elmore Jr. and Ethan during a memorial service for her son Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old found dead after taking a July 4 boat trip with friends, Monday, July 20, 2026, in Ocean Springs, Miss. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A Palestinian scans a valley with a flashlight as people gather around a bonfire during a volunteer night watch to help prevent Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank town of Sinjil, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Spain's Lamine Yamal (19) and Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) embrace after during the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, rides past the Arc de Triomphe during the last stage of the Tour de France cycling race with start and finish in Paris, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Police officers stand near a vehicle crashed into a tree after driving into a crowd near Berlin's annual Pride event, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
People gather outside the Brandenburg Gate for a demonstration in support of LGBTQ+ after a car rammed into a crowd at the Pride March in Berlin, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Artwork by Cuban Osmany Betancourt stands on exhibit in Havana Bay where the Astral ship from the Spanish humanitarian organization Open Arms arrives, in Cuba, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Princy Tamang, a former HIV outreach worker who turned to sex work to survive after losing her job amid the U.S. foreign aid cuts, poses for a portrait, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Hetauda, Nepal. Tamang, who has endured beatings from clients and has been forced to have sex without condoms since transitioning to sex work, fears she will contract HIV. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)
Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party scuffle with police as they attempt to march toward India's Parliament, demanding the resignation of the education minister, in New Delhi, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)
FILE - Elderly Liudmyla Tsapkova sits in her damaged apartment after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk, File)
Migrants return to Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)
Mahasen Faqih is seen through a shattered glass door as she checks her home, destroyed during the Israeli military operation, after returning to it in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Volunteers pull a rope to remove a debris from a collapsed building by earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Firefighters use controlled burning to halt a wildfire that continues to spread near Cebreros, Ávila province, Spain, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Debris is seen in front of a damaged house after a tornado struck Monday, July 27, 2026, in Menasha, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
President Donald Trump, right, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members recently killed in the Middle East, at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
A heat wave gripped large swaths of the Western U.S. on Saturday as temperatures hovered near record highs, heightening wildfire risks in areas that already are dry or burning and prompting warnings for people to stay inside.
A ridge of high pressure is holding heat close to the ground — what’s known as a heat dome — from Arizona to Montana, though the good news is that it will be relatively short-lived, National Weather Service meteorologists said.
Dangerous heat and warnings were plaguing the region Saturday, and the National Weather Service on Saturday forecast a high of 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius) in Las Vegas, the hottest temperature of the year. Phoenix was expected to reach 116F (47C), while El Centro, California, was expected to hit a record 118F (48C). Even parts of Montana were expected to broil, with a record 104F (40C) forecast for Great Falls.
In Las Vegas, Saturday's forecast high was 10 degrees above normal, with meteorologists warning of dangerous heat through Sunday, when the high is expected to be 114, said weather service meteorologist Morgan Stessman.
Overnight lows in the upper 80s to low 90s will make the situation especially dangerous because it doesn't allow people’s bodies to recover. “There's just no relief overnight,” Stessman said.
People were being urged to stay indoors and hydrated.
At the Justa Center in Phoenix, which caters to seniors but opens to the public as a cooling center in the afternoon, the biggest challenge is keeping up with the need for water and electrolytes, said operations director Rudy Soliz. He said about 200 people come in daily.
“Anybody can come in, get a meal, sign up, get checked in through the cooling center, sit down, relax, watch a little TV, you know, catch themselves before they move on to another cooling center or their destination,” he said.
The August record for Las Vegas is 116F (47C), while the hottest on record was 120F (49C) in July 2024, which also was the hottest summer on record, Stessman said.
In Montana, the entire east side of the state was under an extreme heat warning Saturday, though by Sunday, much of the state will be in the 70s, said weather service meteorologist Jeff Kitsmiller.
Great Falls was heading toward a record high of 104F (40C), which would top its previous record of 101F (38C), while Helena was expected to match or surpass its record of 102F (39C), he said.
Still, it’s not as bad as the heat wave in mid-July, when some areas broke all-time records, including Billings, which reached 111F (44C) on July 12, Kitsmiller said.
“That was a rare heat wave,” he said. “This one fits for this time of year.”
The Montana Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter in Billings, opened its doors earlier than usual on Saturday to provide relief from temperatures that could reach 106F (41C). Dozens of people were expected throughout the day, and the shelter planned to provide dinner, beds and breakfast, a receptionist said.
Great Falls Parks and Recreation's four swimming pools and three splash pads were crowded with people trying to beat the heat, said Katy Houseman, who works at one of the city's recreation centers.
“They’re definitely hitting the pools and doing the splash pads outside and then trying to hide inside where there’s air conditioning,” said Houseman. “It's super, super hot today.”
Forecasters were warning that this heat wave, combined with drying from past heat, will add to wildfire risks across the West.
“We’re definitely worried about that” in Montana, where fires already are burning and high winds are forecast for the weekend, said Kitsmiller, adding that most of the state was under a red flag warning.
In Nevada, “with this heat dome setting up, we’ve lost some of the moisture that we did have — like relative humidity in the afternoon bottoming out in the single digits in quite a few places,” Stessman said.
The U.S. Forest Service has said there is an enhanced wildfire risk through Sunday in most of Southern California except for the coastline.
Extreme heat and drought also have created dangerous wildfire conditions in the Pacific Northwest.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency Saturday after unusually high temperatures and high winds exacerbated record wildfires across the state. He also banned most outdoor and agricultural burning through the end of September.
Ferguson’s proclamation went into effect ahead of an unprecedented “particularly dangerous situation” Red Flag Alert by the National Weather Service, which rated the weather risk as “extreme” across Eastern Washington. More than 312 square miles (808 square kilometers) are currently burning in 12 large fires.
A red flag alert also was given for eastern Oregon, where crews are battling several large wildfires, including the Rowe Creek Complex fire, which has grown to 490 square miles (1,269 square kilometers) with 57% containment.
Climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is causing larger, more intense and longer-lasting heat waves — which lead to more intense droughts and contribute to larger, more destructive wildfires.
This year’s weather is also expected to be affected by El Nino, a natural warming of the equatorial Pacific that alters weather patterns and spikes temperatures across the globe.
The current El Nino is expected to rank as among the most intense since the weather service began tracking the phenomenon in 1950, experts said. It's already broken records for intensity at its early stages, United Nations officials warned Friday.
Associated Press writer Martha Bellisle in Seattle contributed to this report.
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Pedestrians try to stay in the shade was they walk through misting machines at an outdoor mall, Friday, July 31, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
A painter on a ladder braves the searing heat in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles on Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A small plastic pool is filled with water for children to cool off on a soccer field in Los Angeles, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A person sits in the shade at a bus stop in Los Angeles, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A person sits in the shade of trees in a nearly empty park in Los Angeles, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Daniel Aragonez leaves a cooling center in Los Angeles, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)