Extreme maximum temperatures have been recorded in multiple regions of Russia

After entrying July, many countries in the Northern Hemisphere have experienced heatwaves, with numerous locations repeatedly breaking historical records. On July 4th, Russia faced its hottest weather in over a century, with records being shattered from the Pacific coast and Siberian wilderness to the western parts of the country. Temperatures in many cities exceeded 35°C; the capital, Moscow, reached 32.7°C, breaking the historical highest temperature record of 32.2°C set on that day in 1917. High temperatures also affected the western, southern, and central regions of the United States, with Phoenix, the capital of Arizona in the southwestern United States, recording a maximum temperature of 45°C.

It is anticipated that under the control of a high-pressure ridge, a heatwave will persist in the entire European region of Russia over the next three days, with maximum temperatures reaching 32 to 35 degrees Celsius in some areas, and locally up to 36 to 37 degrees Celsius in the southwestern part.

In addition, high temperature weather ranging from 35 to 42 degrees Celsius still occurs in the Midwestern and Southern United States, southern Italy, southern Greece, northwestern India, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and northern Africa, with local areas exceeding 45 degrees Celsius.

Figure 1 Distribution of Maximum Temperature on July 4, 2024 (Unit: ℃)

Figure 2: Geopotential height (contours, units: dagpm) and anomalies (shaded) at 500hPa at 0800 BT on July 4, 2024

Author: Wang Zeyi                         Reviewer: Liu Xiaobo

English reviewer:Wang Yi                                                          Issue approver:Dai Kan