June 2019 was hottest in Earth's recorded history, says European agency

LOS ANGELES - Summer is in its early stages and already the effects of this year's record-breaking heat are being felt around the world.

The European Union's satellite agency announced that last month was the hottest June ever in recorded history as the world feels the effects of globally rising temperatures due to climate change, experts say.

Data showed that average global temperatures ranged about 0.10 degrees Celsius higher than that of the previous record-holder according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

Temperatures were also 6-10 degrees Celsius above normal in regions such as France, Germany and Spain.

France experienced its hottest recorded temperature in the country's history at 45.9 degrees Celsius (114.62 Fahrenheit), while wildfires raged across Spain.

According to C3S, the month of June as a whole was around 1 degree Celsius higher than a previous record set in June 1999, as well as a degree Celsius higher than expected trends in recent decades.

While C3S admits it is difficult to directly attribute this heat wave to climate change, they say extreme weather events like this one are expected to become much more common as the "the planet continues to warm under increasing greenhouse gas concentrations."

Jean-Noël Thepaut, Head of C3S, said in the report that the data shows that temperatures during the recent heatwave throughout the southwestern region of Europe were "unusually high."

"Although this was exceptional, we are likely to see more of these events in the future due to climate change," he added.

California also experienced a record-breaking heat wave in June, in which The California independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) issued a statewide Flex Alert early in the month, urging residents to conserve electricity.

It was so hot in Northern California that tens of thousands of mussels were found dead along the shores from frying in their shells, reported Bay Nature magazine.

In South Dakota, temperatures as high as 107 degrees Fahrenheit caused roads to buckle, according to the South Dakota Highway Patrol.

Excessive heat caused the concrete to expand and collapse, putting roads out of commission for several hours.

According to the European Environmental Agency, the volume of warm days Europe has experienced has nearly doubled between 1960 and 2018.

The agency says the continent is expected to have similar, if not worse, heat waves "as often as every two years" in the second half of the 21st century.