July 2023 is set to be the world's hottest month on record, with the average global temperature predicted to be at least 0.2°C warmer than the previous warmest month, July 2019. Temperatures around the world are breaking records. The mercury in the city of Sanbao in China's arid northwest broke a national record, reaching 52.2°C. In the Mediterranean, firefighters battled forest fires from the Greek island of Rhodes to the coast of Algeria. (Kate Whiting)