World records second-warmest July: WMO

Global temperatures reached their second-highest July levels on record, while average sea-surface temperatures also hit a new high for the month, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported Tuesday.

Western Europe experienced its hottest June-July period on record, with extreme heat continuing into August and some countries now facing their fourth heatwave since May, the WMO said.

According to the UN agency's statistics, Japan and the Republic of Korea registered record-breaking heat last week, with high temperatures affecting other parts of Asia and some areas of Latin America. In west Africa, parts of the region saw intense monsoon rainfall and flooding.

From January through the end of June, about 82 percent of the world's oceans experienced marine heatwaves of varying intensity.

The organization also highlighted the surge in wildfire activity across western Europe last month. In France, 2026 could become one of the most severe wildfire years in the past 24 years, while Spain has also recorded fire activity well above the seasonal average. Severe wildfires were also reported in parts of the western United States and Canada.

John Kennedy, head of Climate Information at the WMO, said that high-pressure systems are typically associated with high temperatures and dry conditions, while low-pressure systems tend to bring cooler and wetter weather, adding that such high-pressure patterns can persist for days or even weeks, as seen this year.

"Extreme heat is becoming more frequent, more intense. It's lasting longer and covering much wider areas than in the cooler climates of the past. Looking back in time, June 1976 is a really good example because June 1976 had a very similar pattern of high and low pressure, warmer and cooler areas to this year. The picture for 1976 is one of a few isolated areas above average temperatures in a much cooler world. In 2026, the picture is reversed. It's one of a much warmer world, with a few isolated areas of below average temperatures," said Kennedy.

World records second-warmest July: WMO

World records second-warmest July: WMO

China will step up efforts to strengthen ecological conservation during the 2026-2030 period as it continues to pursue green modernization, according to a recently issued development plan.

The plan, jointly issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Natural Resources and other departments on Aug 7, said China aims to steadily improve the quality of its ecosystems, enhance ecosystem diversity, stability and resilience, and better safeguard the country's ecological security.

The plan also sets specific targets for the period, including keeping the proportion of land area covered by protected areas at no less than 18 percent of the country's total land area and raising the Ecological Quality Index (EQI) to 86.5. It also calls for increasing the soil and water conservation rate to above 74 percent and raising the forest coverage rate to 25.8 percent.

It also outlines tasks to further optimize the ecological spatial configuration, advance ecosystem protection and restoration, and comprehensively strengthen biodiversity conservation.

China has continued to strengthen ecological conservation and environmental protection. The country's landmark Ecological and Environmental Code, set to take effect this Saturday, marks another major step in these efforts, providing stronger legal support for sustainable and environmentally friendly development.

China to strengthen ecological protection for more resilient ecosystems by 2030