The Madre Fire in California’s San Luis Obispo County ignited around 13:00 LT on July 2, 2025, and burned through 14 370 ha (35 531 acres) by early July 3. Evacuation orders and warnings have been issued for multiple zones as strong winds and high temperatures continue to fuel rapid fire growth. This is the largest wildfire in California in 2025 to date.
A lightning-sparked Horse Fire, located west of Lakehead, California, has burned about 160 ha (400 acres) near Schell Mountain, south of Clear Creek Campground, as of July 3, 2025. Fire crews have made progress on containment, and the fire has not crossed Rattlesnake Creek.
A strong explosive eruption occurred at Shinmoedake volcano, part of the Kirishima volcanic complex on Kyushu Island, Japan, at approximately 15:37 JST (06:37 UTC) on July 3, 2025, sending an ash plume up to 6.7 km (22 000 feet) above sea level (a.s.l.). The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) had raised the volcanic alert to Level 3 on June 27, following increased volcanic unrest.
At least 4 people have been hospitalized and nearly 1 500 people have been evacuated as firefighters continued to engage a major wildfire on the Greek island of Crete on Thursday, July 3, 2025.
At least eight people have died across Spain, France, and Italy as an early-summer heatwave swept across Europe in late June and early July 2025, breaking temperature records and prompting red alerts and emergency responses.
Sea surface temperatures in the western Mediterranean Sea reached up to 30 °C (86 °F) in early July 2025, with anomalies of 5–6 °C (9–10.8 °F) above average under strong to severe marine heatwave conditions.
A tornado passed near Cangzhou, Hebei Province, China, in the early afternoon of July 2, 2025, causing widespread damage in the area.
A slow-moving low-pressure system near the Southeast U.S. coast may bring prolonged rainfall and flooding to parts of Florida and the Gulf region over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reporting a 40% chance of tropical or subtropical development over the next seven days.
Chile recorded some of its coldest temperatures in history on June 30, as a polar wave brought subzero conditions from the Altiplano to Patagonia. The extreme cold led to closure of a key border crossing between Chile and Argentina starting on July 1 due to ice and snow accumulations.
Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding disrupted ground and air travel along the I‑95 corridor from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia on July 1, 2025. Heavy rainfall caused road closures and water rescues, while major airports experienced widespread delays and cancellations.
