Across
Europe[1] and parts of
Asia, unusually high-temperatures in the late-winter period were reported from 20 February until 28 February 2021.
June
Eurasia
Parts of
Russia and
eastern Europe were hit by record-breaking
heat wave in June and July, with temperatures in the Arctic Circle above 30 °C (86 °F) and highest June temperature were recorded in
Moscow and
St. Petersburg. Temperature 20 °C (36 °F) above average hit central and eastern Europe, with the highest anomalies centered on Scandinavia and parts of western Russia, due to the
heat dome effect.[2]Anticyclone conditions over Russia resemble those in the
2010 heat waves, with parts of Siberia were 15 °C (27 °F) higher than normal.[3] The shores of the
Barents Sea saw hotter temperatures than beaches in Italy and southern France, around 25–30 °C (77–86 °F) for several days.[4]
In June 2021,
Kazakhstan faced a record-breaking increase in temperatures in western parts of the country, specifically the
Kyzylorda,
Mangystau, and
Turkistan regions. As a result, the Kazakh meteorological service Kazhydromet forecasted that an extreme drought would take place.[5] By 7 July, the temperatures reached up to 46.5 °C (115.7 °F).[6] Prior to the announcement of increased temperatures, photos from the Mangystau Region emerged on social media which showed emaciated horses on a verge of dying.[7] According to the
Ministry of Agriculture, the cause for situation was due to lack of pasturage in the area as a result of several climatic conditions, and that measures would be implemented to prevent the further casualties of livestock.[8] The
Khabar Agency on 16 June 2021 reported that approximately 2,000 livestock had died with Kazakh lawmakers calling for a state of emergency to be implemented in the Mangystau and Kyzylorda regions, citing the problems in farmers whom were unwilling to feed the cattle due to inflated costs for animal feed.[9][10] In July 2021, due to worsening situation, Kazakh President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called on Agriculture Minister
Saparhan Omarov to resign, citing his failure to provide assistance to struggling farmers.[11] On 13 July, a state of emergency was introduced in the
Aral District in an attempt to solve the shortage of feed.[12] In a visit to Mangystau Region, Acting Agriculture Minister
Erbol Qaraşukeev pledged that 1.9 billion ₸ would allocated in order to reduce the costs of livestock feed and that a ban on its exports would be placed as well.[13]
An extreme
heat wave affected much of
Western North America from late June through mid-July 2021.[14] Rapid attribution analysis found this was a 1000-year weather event, made 150 times more likely by climate change.[15][16] The heat wave affected
Northern California,
Idaho,
Western Nevada,
Oregon, and
Washington in the United States, as well as
British Columbia, and, in its latter phase,
Alberta,
Manitoba, the
Northwest Territories,
Saskatchewan, and
Yukon, all in Canada.[17] The heat wave appeared due to an exceptionally strong
ridge centered over the area, whose strength was linked to the
effects of climate change.[18][19] It resulted in some of the highest temperatures ever recorded in the region,[20] including
the highest temperature ever measured in Canada at 49.6 °C (121.3 °F).[21] The exact death toll is unknown, and growing. On July 6, preliminary statistics released by the British Columbia
Coroner Service indicated 610 more sudden deaths than usual occurred in the province and
Alberta logged 66 excess deaths in the week of the heat wave;[22][23] the Chief Coroner of British Columbia later said that in the week between June 25 to July 1, 569 deaths were confirmed to have happened due to heat-related causes.[24] Confirmed deaths in the United States include at least 116 in
Oregon (of which 72 are in
Multnomah County, which includes
Portland),[25][26][27] at least 112 in
Washington[28] and one death in
Idaho;[29] though an analysis by The New York Times suggests that around 600 excess deaths occurred on the week the heat wave passed through Washington and Oregon.[30]
July
In July, a
heat wave in Europe led to record-breaking temperatures in the UK and Ireland.