Austria Breaks Heat Records as Japan Braces for Typhoon Dolphin

The summer of 2026 has brought unbearable, record-breaking heat across much of Europe. Last week, new records were set in central Europe: Wieselburg, Austria, registered a new July peak of 40.3°C (104.5°F). This is particularly significant as it is just 0.2°C behind the all-time high set in August 2003, reports infohub.kz.

However, not all of the northern hemisphere has experienced extreme heat and aridity. Vancouver recorded its wettest July since 2016 and the third wettest since 2008, with 33.6mm of rain. While that total may not appear exceptional, it is only a touch above the 1991-2020 climate average, highlighting how unusually dry July has been in the Canadian city over the past decade.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Dolphin has continued to barrel westwards across the Pacific Ocean towards Japan and Taiwan. It became the fifth category 5 tropical cyclone of 2026 and ranks third for wind speed, behind only typhoons Bavi and Sinlaku.

Dolphin reached maximum sustained wind speeds of 175mph on Thursday, with a central pressure of 910mb. The storm intensified rapidly over just 36 hours. On 27 July, it was a tropical storm; however, exceptionally warm sea temperatures of about 30°C fuelled its swift transformation into a super typhoon. Another contributing factor was its unusually compact structure, with hurricane-force winds extending only 52 miles from the centre. By comparison, a powerful typhoon such as Dolphin would typically have a hurricane-force wind radius of about 100 miles.

As of Monday, Dolphin has been downgraded to a category 3 storm, with sustained wind speeds of 125mph. As it continues westwards towards the island of Okinawa, it is forecast to weaken further and make landfall as a category 1 or 2 typhoon.

However, wind speeds of 80-100mph are still expected to affect the archipelago and remain strong enough to cause widespread damage and disruption. Although the overall wind speed of Dolphin is decreasing, its wind field is forecast to expand as it approaches land, shifting the primary threat from destructive winds to storm surge.