28 July 2026 Climate and Environment

“The climate alarm is blaring from every direction,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in a statement.

“With the mercury set to soar again this week, the awful costs of this climate crisis – both human and economic – are now reaching national emergency levels.”

• Over 250,000 hectares of land in Europe has burned, with 1,254 fires detected since the start of 2026
• Record-breaking wildfires are tearing through France, Spain and other parts of Europe, forcing mass evacuations and hammering regional and national economies, follow brutal heatwaves that have dried out landscapes
• In North Africa, temperatures are approaching 49°C, putting lives and livelihoods in grave jeopardy, and putting hospitals and power systems under severe strain
• In Chile, deadly storms have destroyed homes and lives
• In Japan, records are tumbling as temperatures soar, now reaching the longest 40°C heat streak ever recorded.

Mr. Stiell said these “spiralling disasters” are now the lived reality for billions in a world getting rapidly hotter as humanity moves too slowly from fossil fuels to clean energy – and fails to sufficiently protect forests. 

The science on the cause is unequivocal, he explained, emphasising that global heating, driven by humanity burning “colossal amounts” of coal, oil and gas, is making protracted heatwaves, severe floods and violent mega-storms more frequent, more intense and more costly.

“What needs to be done is equally clear: leave coal, oil and gas behind faster, scale up renewables and protect people where the impacts are already hitting hardest,” Mr. Stiell said.

Many vulnerable countries on the frontlines need support to move at the speed and scale necessary, to avert disaster.

In 2023, dangerous smoke from Canadian wildfires wafted across the northeastern United States and then across the Atlantic Ocean, causing health threats while demonstrating their far reach. 

This summer, Canada’s wildfires have again cast a pall of orange smoke pollution across the skies of New York state, leading to air quality warnings across the region.

Indeed, smoke from wildfires can travel thousands of kilometres, crossing borders, oceans and continents. Understanding where it will go next has become an increasingly important scientific challenge, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has reported.

Understanding and addressing the threat wildfire smoke poses is paramount. Advance warning is important so governments and communities can implement timely protective measures.

WMO said that reliable monitoring, forecasting, cross-border data sharing and early warnings are critical to protect lives, livelihoods and ecosystems.

Through the Early Warnings for All initiative, WMO is advancing these efforts by promoting standardised frameworks, enhancing interoperability and fostering international collaboration on fire weather services.

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