Record-breaking temperatures in June around the world

FROM Nigeria to Japan, Pakistan to Spain, the month of June was the hottest ever recorded in 12 countries and was exceptionally warm in 26 other countries, according to AFP analysis of data from the European monitor Copernicus.

- AFP

Some 790 million people around Europe, Asia and Africa experienced their hottest June to date. For the residents of 26 other states, including Britain, China, France, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, the month of June was the second hottest on record.

Heatwaves are more frequent and intense because of global warming, experts say.

An early summer heatwave scorched western and southern Europe at the end of June, bringing sweltering heat to the Paris region in France and parts of Belgium and the Netherlands that are not used to such temperatures.

Around 15 countries, including Switzerland, Italy, and every Balkan state, saw temperatures rise to three degrees Celsius above the June average between 1981 and 2010. Spain, Bosnia, and Montenegro had their hottest June to date.