The Health and Human Rights Approach to Greenhouse Gas Pollution
News
Climate Emergency Institute
The latest important climate change news
Europe May - June 2026 : Early and record heat
A historic heat dome began in late May, baking countries like France, the UK, and Ireland.
By late June, the extreme heat shifted to Central and Eastern Europe, shattering records in Denmark, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. Temperatures exceeded 40°C in some regions, placing immense stress on infrastructure, sparking wildfires, and causing a surge in heat-related fatalities in France and Italy.
A historic heat dome began in late May, baking countries like France, the UK, and Ireland.
By late June, the extreme heat shifted to Central and Eastern Europe, shattering records in Denmark, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. Temperatures exceeded 40°C in some regions, placing immense stress on infrastructure, sparking wildfires, and causing a surge in heat-related fatalities in France and Italy.
South America: Early 2026, severe early-year heat waves swept across Brazil, with "feels-like" temperatures passing 62°C in some areas
2026 Early and record severe heat waves
WMO, 31 July 2026, Strong El Niño expected to intensify
El Niño continues to intensify steadily and is expected to dominate global climate patterns in the August-October 2026 season, increasing the likelihood of above-normal temperatures across much of the world and driving significant shifts in rainfall patterns
El Niño continues to intensify steadily and is expected to dominate global climate patterns in the August-October 2026 season, increasing the likelihood of above-normal temperatures across much of the world and driving significant shifts in rainfall patterns
Science Daily, 1 August 2026, Scientists detect a sharp acceleration in global warming
Global Warming Has Accelerated Significantly, G. Foster, S. Rahmstorf, March 2026
Global Warming Has Accelerated Significantly, G. Foster, S. Rahmstorf, March 2026
The current global warming increase rate is higher than any natural warming in the entire geological record (4.4 to 4.6 billion years)
'In terms of global-scale events, in the entire geological record, only the instantaneous Cretaceous–Paleogene meteorite impact event occurred more rapidly than the current human-induced global warming'. i.e. 'instantaneous, meteorite-induced event that caused the extinction of non-bird-like dinosaurs 66 million years ago'.
(Geological Society of London Scientific Statement: what the geological record tells us about our present and future climate, C. H. Lear et al, 28 Dec. 2020)
'In terms of global-scale events, in the entire geological record, only the instantaneous Cretaceous–Paleogene meteorite impact event occurred more rapidly than the current human-induced global warming'. i.e. 'instantaneous, meteorite-induced event that caused the extinction of non-bird-like dinosaurs 66 million years ago'.
(Geological Society of London Scientific Statement: what the geological record tells us about our present and future climate, C. H. Lear et al, 28 Dec. 2020)