What it was like living through the hottest month in Earth’s recorded history

July of 2019 is officially the hottest month in recorded history. Humanity’s experiment of pumping greenhouse gases in to the atmosphere is producing results that are frighteningly consistent with our predictions. The climate crisis is here.

One of scientists’ predictions has been for more frequent and intense heatwaves. While the global average temperature has risen by about 1°C, in small pockets people might experience daily temperatures as high as 20°C above average—spikes that can have devastating consequences. From human health, transportation systems, and environmental stability to animal safety, civic peace, and water and energy availability, every element of modern life can be affected by such extreme temperatures.

Just take a look at some of the examples of what happened last month.

Belgium

• Trains were disrupted.
• Ozone pollution peaked.
• A zoo fed tigers iced chickens and bears iced watermelon to keep them safe.
• The country’s all-time high was recorded in Kleine-Brogel at 39.9°C (104°F), higher than the previous record of 38.8°C set in June 1947.

China

• More than 500,000 suffered from widespread droughts.
• Cases of heatstroke spiked in Shanghai.
• Electricity consumption shot to new highs in many cities in Guangdong province.
• Record-setting highs were registered in a dozen cities, including Beijing and Chongqing.

France

• Paris was on red alert (link in French).
• Residents were asked to look out (link in French) for vulnerable elderly.
• A nuclear power plant suffered an outage.
• At least five people died because of the heatwave.