Pakistan went through its hottest June on record in 2025, with temperatures climbing beyond previous highs across the country.
This scorching weather wasn’t limited to Pakistan alone. A total of 12 countries, including Japan, Nigeria and Spain, also recorded their warmest June ever. The findings come from an AFP review of data collected by the European Copernicus Climate Monitor.
The intense heat wave impacted nearly 800 million people across parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. For Pakistan, the extreme temperatures came on the heels of an unusually hot spring.
Other Central Asian countries like Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan also went through their warmest April to June period ever documented.
Japan’s weather records, which go back to 1898, show that this past June was the country’s hottest. Coastal water temperatures were 1.2 degrees Celsius above normal, and the heat even interfered with the usual blooming pattern of cherry blossoms.
Both South Korea and North Korea also experienced the hottest June since weather tracking began.
In China, over a hundred weather stations recorded their highest June temperatures to date, with many locations seeing the mercury shoot past 40 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, in Europe, countries like Spain, Italy, and those in the Balkans reported temperatures soaring more than 3 degrees above the average.
Several African countries weren’t spared either. Nigeria, along with central and eastern regions of the continent, battled severe heat. In South Sudan, schools had to shut down after students fainted in the classrooms due to dangerously high temperatures.
Climate experts continue to raise the alarm, saying that extreme heat events like these are not just rare spikes anymore. They’re happening more often and with greater intensity as the effects of global warming deepen.