Africa's hottest recorded temperature ever was recorded was in 1931 when the mercury reached 55 deg C (131 deg F) in Kibili Tunisia, however, The BBC claim that record could be unreliable according to scientists.
On July the 5th some experts are claiming Africa's hottest temperature was reached when the mercury hit an incredible 51.3 deg C, (124.3 deg F) Ouargla in Algeria.
So why did this happen?
The BBC's environment correspondent Matt McGrath writes: "In common with many parts of the world, Algeria has seen a significant rise in heat waves over the past 30 years that experts say is down to rising global temperatures.
"According to one study, the frequency of heat waves lasting three days or longer has more than doubled between 1988 and 2015.
Earlier this year Pakistan experienced the world's hottest April day on record, with temperatures peaking at 122.4F (50.2C).
Meanwhile, after being sunless for 5 months much of the entire Arctic was abnormally warm around the same time.
The temperature averaged over the whole region appears to be the warmest on record for that time of year, dating back to at least 1958.
Coming back to July, cities across Eastern Canada suffered a deadly heat wave, with at least 70 deaths attributed to the record hot spell in Quebec province alone.
In Canada's capital Ottawa, in Ontario, the humidity index - the method used there to measure the combined humidity level and temperature - hit 47C (116.6F) on 2 July.
According to BBC Weather's Ben Rich: "The jet stream has shifted further north than usual, allowing a plume of very warm air to waft northwards across the USA and into large parts of Canada.
There was also less rainfall than normal during May and June - and dry ground heats up more quickly, so temperatures have been able to rise well above average."
Record after record fell in southern parts of California last week:
Downtown Los Angeles had its hottest July night in history, with a minimum of 26.1C (79F) on 7 July
Chino, outside LA, saw its hottest-ever temperature - 48.9C (120F)
The temperature at University of California, Los Angeles, hit 43.9C (111F), breaking a 79-year-old record
The heat also caused much health concern with breathing problems and asthma attacks from bushfires.
In essence, it's the same problem that has affected eastern Canada.
So is this down to climate change?
It's hard to pin it on that and only that, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Australia bakes in the summer but it's the middle of the winter there now, however, they have not escaped the heat, last week, the temperature in Sydney topped 24.7C (76.5F) over two days in July for the first time since records began.
That's roughly eight Celsius higher than the average temperature for this time of year.
This comes after most parts of the city recorded their hottest-ever autumn.
According to Ben Rich: "Temperatures rose during early July as an area of high pressure settled to the east of Australia, bringing warm northwesterly winds from the Equator down across the eastern side of Australia.
The whole Caucasus region, a mountainous area on the border of Europe and Asia, has suffered particularly high temperatures this month.
The capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, hit an all-time high of 40.5C (104.9F) on 4 July, but the heat has put a significant strain on (often ageing) power grids in other countries nearby.
Nearby, there have been major power cuts in Iran because demand outstripped the electrical system's capabilities as people try to stay cool.
The government there has urged people to conserve energy wherever possible.
In Europe, it's the same with parts of south-west France hitting40 deg C (104 deg F)
The UK and Ireland have seen the hottest summer they have had since 1976 and here in Holland where I am based, it hasn't rained for nearly two months.
At the beginning of June, a heat wave in Mexico increased temperatures to 50 C (122 F) in many areas and led authorities to declare a state of emergency, the country's National Weather Service (SMN).
According to the SMN, temperatures rose to 50 C in the northern state of Sinaloa, the western state of Michoacan and the central state of Hidalgo, while temperatures in the rest of the country exceeded 30 C (113 F).
It's not all about heat, many frightening statistics are being released after the unprecedented torrential rainfall eases in Japan and the real problem now for rescuers looking for the many people missing is the heat with temperatures around 35 deg C, (95 deg F).
Almost half a year's rain has fallen in Japan in just ten days.
Nearly ten million people were ordered to leave their homes.
Almost 10,000 are people are in shelters, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
More than 200 people have died with dozens still missing.
More than 250,000 people are without water.
70,000 rescuers continue the search for missing people.
Aid supplies and volunteers have been arriving in affected areas, although a local official in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, said there are “not enough people or vehicles” to distribute the abundant supplies.
According to Gaijingpot.com, the devastating torrential rains and subsequent flooding and landslides in western Japan — Hiroshima, Okayama, Ehime, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Yamaguchi, Kagoshima, Hyogo, Gifu, Shiga, Kochi, Saga — have left at least 200 people dead so far with rescuers still searching for dozens more.
According to JapanToday.com, communities that grappled with rising floodwaters last week now find themselves battling scorching summer temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius, as foul-smelling garbage piles up in mud-splattered streets.
"We need the water supply back," said Hiroshi Oka, 40, a resident helping to clean up the Mabi district in one of the hardest-hit areas, the city of Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, where more than 200,000 households have gone without water for a week.
The soaring temperatures have fuelled concern that residents, many still in temporary evacuation centres, may suffer heat strokes or illness as hygiene levels deteriorate.
Greece, where you would expect heat this time of the year, is recovering from flash floods which have devastated Athens for the second time in less than a year.
Unseasonable extreme rains- unheard of in Greece in the summer months- has left much of the Greek mainland drenched.
Flooding and rivers overflowing their banks were reported in regions throughout the mainland, including Larisa.
The town of Mandra, where 24 people lost their lives last November during torrential rains and extreme flooding, was hard hit again.
According to Chile's Ministry of Health (Minsa), 604 people have died of pneumonia by June 20, 2018, due to low temperatures.
The number includes more than 400 older adults and 72 children under the age of 5.
Since winter season is just beginning, low temperatures, snow and frost are expected to continue.
Earlier this year, Cape Town braced for Day Zero.
That would be the day that South Africa's second-largest city turned off its taps and sent its 4 million residents to water-collection points for no more than 25 litres (7 gallons) per person per day.
Day Zero was scheduled for early May 2018, but Day Zero now been deferred to 2019.
Front Page
