BOILING ERA

July was the hottest month on Earth in the last 120,000 years

JULY was the hottest month on the planet in the last 120,000 years, according to a Leipzig University study.

The research confirmed that it was the hottest month since records started in 1880.

And shockingly, Karsten Haustein, leader of the research, said it may have been the hottest month in 120,000 years, when there were forests in the Arctic Circle and hippopotamuses and elephants roamed where London is today.

The average worldwide temperature last month was 1.5C hotter than it was before the Second Industrial Revolution.

The average temperature in July 2023 was 0.2C higher than in July 2019, which had been the hottest month on Earth until now.

North America, Asia and Europe have suffered from extreme heatwaves, leading to large fires in countries including Greece and Canada.

“The era of global warming has ended, now we are in the global boiling era,” said UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres.

Oil woe

OLIVE OIL price rises are showing no sign of slowing down in Spain with the cost of a litre doubling over a year due to droughts destroying olive crops.

Known as ‘liquid gold’, the lowest price for a litre of ‘basic’ olive oil comes in at around €6.45 with prices set to rise still further.

In the Murcia region, Antonia Cruz from the Jumilla branch of the COAG farmers organisation said: “The drought is subjecting olive trees to a lot of water stress and if the weather continues as it is, next year the trees will suffer because they will eliminate the fruit to save themselves,” she added.

By Alberto Lejarraga

He insisted: “Climate change is here, it is terrifying and it is only the start.”

July 6 was the hottest day ever recorded on the planet with an average temperature of over 17C, surpassing the previous record established in August 2016.

In Spain, there have already been three heatwaves this summer, with extreme weather warnings on the Costa del Sol.

And on the Costa Blanca, the province of Alicante experienced the hottest July nights in 100 years.