COP31: how drought and heat has impacted lives across the globe in 2026

(8 Nov 2026) ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE : Medirigiriya, Sri Lanka - 13 September 2026 1. Various of aerials of animals in shrinking water hole surrounded by parched land ++MUTE ++ 2. Aerial of dry well ++ MUTE ++ 3. Wide of woman carrying clay pot walking past dry well 4. Women walking with plastic cans to get water 5. Wide of officials filling a water tank from a tanker truck to supply water to villagers 6. 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." 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. Wide of deer drinking water from a water hole 10. Wide of a monkey heading towards a water hole 11. Various of buffaloes in a water hole 12. Various of a water tanker filling up water hole in the national park 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 15. Mid of people cooling off with water at fountain 16. Digital thermometer displaying 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Paris, France - 21 June 2026 17. Wide of people around fountain in Place des Vosges 18. Various of people cooling down in fountain 19. Wide of people jumping off bridge over canal ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: London, UK - 22 October 2026 ++VIDEO CALL++ 20. 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: Rome - 24 June 2026 21. Various of people refreshing themselves from fountains ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Madrid, Spain - 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 ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Tokyo - 15 July 2026 25. Tourists take photos underneath wind chimes at a park 26. Lotus pond in Tokyo during heatwave 27. A woman holding a portable fan 28. Man eating a cup of shaved ice 29. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Maina Kizu, park visitor: 30. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Naoki Uehara, park visitor: 31. A woman fanning holding parasol 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/4ff09c7dde13475692fde4feae36a9be