COP31: How drought and heat have impacted lives across the globe in 2026

(8 Nov 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE : Medirigiriya, Sri Lanka - 13 September 2026 1. Various of aerials of animals in shrinking water hole surrounded by parched land ++MUTE ++ ++OVERLAID BY SHOT 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 AND 12++ 2. SOUNDBITE (Sinhala) Waraddana Mudiyanselage Suddhawansha, farmer: ++AUDIO AS INCOMING++ "We do vegetable farming. Now the sun is very strong. We are unable to do farming because such is the heat. No water at all. There is no rain at this time period. We have been told we will receive less rain this season for our cultivation. We are in a difficult situation now and it is becoming harder to live. We are determined to face whatever situation, but we face so many economic problems. Because of this, life is difficult." 3. Aerial of dry well ++ MUTE ++ 4. Wide of woman carrying clay pot walking past dry well 5. Women walking with plastic cans to get water 6. Wide of officials filling a water tank from a tanker truck to supply water to villagers ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Hambantota District, Sri Lanka - 11 September 2026 7. Wide of dry land in Yala National Park 8. Close of parched land 9. Various of a water tanker filling up water hole in the national park 10. Wide of deer drinking water from a water hole 11. Wide of a monkey heading towards a water hole 12. Various of buffaloes in a water hole ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina - 11 August 2026 13. Wide of intense sun shining in sky 14. Wide of people walking in old town ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: London, UK - 22 October 2026 ++VIDEO CALL++ ++OVERLAID BY SHOT 14,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23 AND 24++ 15. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Clair Barnes, climate scientist, Imperial College London: "A lot of Europe, especially Western Europe, so very populous parts of Europe experienced repeated heat waves that broke national records for the time of year and sometimes national records for any time of the year. So it has been unusually hot. And actually, in many parts of the world, those heat waves would have been dangerous even in a pre-industrial climate without the additional effect from human-caused warming from our burning fossil fuels. But the fact that we have these, what would have anyway been quite an unusual series of heat waves, and it's had that extra boost from human-caused warming that really tips it from uncomfortably hot, or slightly dangerous, to very dangerous temperatures, and that's why we're seeing such high numbers this year." ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina - 11 August 2026 16. Mid of people cooling off with water at fountain 17. Digital thermometer displaying 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Paris - 21 June 2026 18. Wide of people around fountain in Place des Vosges 19. Various of people cooling down in fountain 20. Wide of people jumping off bridge over canal ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Rome - 24 June 2026 21. Various of people refreshing themselves from fountains ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Madrid - 23 June 2026 22. Digital board showing time and temperature, 38 degrees Centigrade (100.4 Fahrenheit) ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Los Gallardos, Almería province, Spain - 10 July 2026 23. Various of flames and smoke rising from wildfire; UPSOUND: sirens ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Le Porge, France - 23 July 2026 24. Various of burned trees and white smoke rising from the ground STORYLINE: Sri Lanka has been experiencing drought this year. Temperatures in many parts of the country have been higher than usual and high humidity has exacerbated the heat stress. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/8096bf6d2fd947f69a733eb65325ba5b