TEMPERATURES AROUND THE world in June were the hottest on record, according to data from a US agency which measures ocean and atmospheric environments. 

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded an average global temperature in June of 61.6F, or 16.4C – the highest for the month in the agency’s 140-year history. 

It puts the average temperature at 1.7F higher than the 20th century average, while it also reports that nine of the 10 warmest Junes occurred in the past 10 years. 

Parts of Europe, Russia, Canada and South America experienced the most notable increases in the month’s temperature. 

Melting ice

June 2019 marked the 20th consecutive June with Arctic sea ice below average. 

It was the second smallest Arctic sea ice extent for June in the 41-year record at 475,000 square miles – or 10.5% – below the 1981-2010 average, and 46,300 square miles above the record low set in June 2016. 

June 2019 marks the fourth consecutive June that the Antarctic sea ice extent was below average at 425,000 square miles – or 8.5 – below the 1981-2010 average. 

This was the smallest June extent in the 1-year record, surpassing the previous record set in 2002 by 62,000 square miles. 

The period between January and June 2019 as a whole, seen the second highest average temperatures ever recorded across global land and ocean surfaces. 

It was tied with the same period in 2017 for second place behind 2016, which was the hottest ever recorded by NOAA. 

Last month, saw record-breaking temperatures reach parts of Europe including France, where temperatures reached mid-40s, with reports of people dying from the intense heat. 

Forecasters are predicting another heatwave is set to hit continental Europe in the coming days.