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June is the month when the world proudly marks World Environment Day, a moment meant to celebrate nature, sustainability, and collective action. Yet, ironically, June 2025 unfolded as a stark reminder that speeches and slogans are poor substitutes for genuine change. While policymakers, leaders, and institutions held banners, gave speeches, and shared slogans about saving the planet, the same month saw some of the most painful demonstrations of what climate change is already doing to our world. The contradiction is striking: on June 5, the world observed Environment Day under the theme of “Beat Plastic Pollution,” but as the days of the month passed, nature itself delivered a harsher message, one that no global campaign could soften. In Nice, France, governments gathered for the UN Ocean Conference to negotiate policies for marine sustainability and ocean protection. The discussions were polished and the declarations were lofty, yet many citizens know well that such conferences often stay trapped in meeting rooms, while communities continue to suffer the real costs of environmental breakdown.

On June 5, while Environment Day events were celebrated across continents, torrential rains had already begun to signal a troubling start to the month in South Africa. By June 10, storms had escalated into one of the most destructive floods the Eastern Cape had seen in years. Entire neighborhoods in Mthatha were submerged under water levels reaching three to four meters. Homes and vehicles were swept away as people clung to rooftops waiting for rescue. More than one hundred people lost their lives and thousands were displaced. The government declared a national disaster, but citizens openly criticized decades of neglect in infrastructure planning and drainage systems that could have mitigated such tragedy. The rains themselves were linked to warmer sea surface temperatures, which carry more atmospheric moisture, intensifying downpours. The floods were not only a result of meteorology but also of poor governance and lack of preparation in a country highly vulnerable to the accelerating impacts of climate change.

Just a few days later, attention shifted to Europe where heat began to rise to dangerous levels. By June 19, the United Kingdom faced its hottest June on record for England and its second warmest for the country overall. East Anglia and the Midlands endured extreme daytime temperatures and unusually dry conditions, with rainfall falling to a fraction of normal levels. Authorities issued amber heat health alerts, warning of risks for older adults, children, and people with medical conditions. The warnings were not enough to prevent tragedy. Between June 19 and June 22, health experts estimated nearly 570 people died prematurely due to heat, with 129 fatalities in London alone. Hospitals reported spikes in emergency admissions for dehydration, heart strain, and respiratory distress. Scientists were quick to point out that climate change had made this heatwave ten times more likely and added two to three degrees Celsius to its intensity. The deaths in Britain underscored a troubling reality: even highincome countries with sophisticated health systems are unprepared for the public health emergencies that come with extreme heat.

By June 21, wildfires broke out in Croatia, sweeping through Pisak and neighboring villages. Roads were shut, civilians were injured, and an olive oil refinery was destroyed. On June 22, Greece battled flames across Chios and mainland regions, forcing mass evacuations and the declaration of emergencies. These fires spread rapidly under dry winds and high temperatures, conditions that climate science has long linked to hotter summers in the Mediterranean basin. A week later, on June 29, Turkey faced its own catastrophe as wildfires tore across İzmir Province. More than fifty thousand people were forced to evacuate, airports suspended operations, and at least three people died. The entire Mediterranean region, celebrated for its tourism and agriculture, once again revealed its growing vulnerability to recurring cycles of fire intensified by a warming atmosphere.

In Asia, the monsoon arrived early in Pakistan, beginning on June 26. By June 27, deadly flash floods swept through the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Local families visiting the riverside for leisure were carried away by sudden surges, with thirty two lives lost, including sixteen children. The heavy rain was five days earlier than average and far more intense. Rapid analyses suggest that rainfall across the broader monsoon window was made ten to fifteen percent heavier by climate change. These flash floods were partly the result of atmospheric warming that allowed more moisture to accumulate before being released in violent bursts known as cloudbursts. Citizens expressed grief and anger, and four senior officials were suspended after accusations of negligence in emergency response.

As the month moved toward its close, the Scottish Highlands ignited in flames around June 28, leaving charred landscapes that were only subdued after heavy rainfall on June 30. Though no casualties were reported, the fires highlighted that northern regions, long perceived as insulated from wildfire risk, are now facing similar threats as southern Europe.

All these events were framed by global data that reinforced the exceptional nature of June 2025. According to NOAA, June registered as the third warmest globally in 176 years of records, with surface temperatures nearly one degree Celsius above the twentieth century average. The month’s extremes strongly suggested that 2025 is on track to be among the five hottest years ever documented.

It is not only the numbers that should concern us but the stories behind them. Floods in South Africa and Pakistan exposed how climate change strikes hardest in places already grappling with governance and infrastructure deficits. Heat in the United Kingdom killed hundreds in a matter of days, showing that no country is immune. Fires across the Mediterranean reminded us that ecosystems are being pushed beyond thresholds once thought stable. And yet, even with these warnings, the global political response continues to lag. Conferences such as the one in Nice provide frameworks and declarations, but local communities rarely see the benefits of these negotiations. The irony of celebrating World Environment Day while burying victims of climate disasters within the same month is painful but unavoidable.

The lesson of June 2025 is that climate change is no longer a distant projection but a lived experience shaping societies today. The floods, heatwaves, and fires that unfolded across continents were not random accidents but manifestations of an altered climate system interacting with human vulnerability and policy neglect. If leaders continue to limit themselves to speeches and symbolic observances, the costs will only mount. June should therefore not be remembered only as the month of Environment Day but as a warning that the planet cannot wait for declarations. What it needs is urgent and accountable action.

Kazi Nishat Aunjum is a MS Student, Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Dhaka.

Disclaimer: Views in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect CGS policy