Climate summary:
July 2022 surface air temperature:
- Globally, July 2022 was one of three warmest Julys on record, close to 0.4°C above the 1991-2020 reference period, marginally cooler than July 2019 and marginally warmer than July 2016
- Northern hemisphere land masses see predominantly well above-average temperatures
- Below average temperatures along the western Indian Ocean, from the Horn of Africa to southern India, over much of central Asia, as well as over most of Australia
- Joint sixth warmest July for Europe; heatwave brings local and national records to the western and northern parts of the continent
July 2022 sea ice:
- Antarctic sea ice extent reached its lowest value for July in the 44-year satellite data record, at 7% below average, well below the previous record
- The Southern Ocean saw widespread areas of below-average sea ice concentration from the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas to the northern Weddell Sea, as well as in most of the Indian Ocean sector
- Arctic sea ice extent was 4% below average, ranking 12th lowest for July in the satellite record, well above the low July values seen in 2019–2021
July 2022 – Hydrological conditions:
- July 2022 was drier than average for much of Europe, with local low precipitation records broken in the west and drought in several locations of the southwest and southeast
- These conditions affected the economy locally and facilitated spread and intensification of wildfires
- It was also drier than average in much of North America, large regions of South America, Central Asia and Australia
- Wetter-than-average conditions were especially noteworthy in eastern Russia, northern China, and a large wet band spanning from eastern Africa across Asia to northwest India
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission with funding from the EU, routinely publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting on the changes observed in global surface air temperature, sea ice cover and hydrological variables. All the reported findings are based on computer-generated analyses using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world.