Over the past few weeks, images have been flooding in from Greenpeace offices around the world, documenting our current “hothouse” state. In Japan, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, and Korea temperatures have soared, with some beating previous heat records measured in the country.

Previous A view of a building in Seoul in the summer heat wave. © Soojung Do / Greenpeace Children play in the water at the park on Han riverside to escape the extreme summer heat. © Soojung Do / Greenpeace A tourist in Gyongbok Palace cools down from the heat using a toy fan. © Soojung Do / Greenpeace Japanese high school students use a handkerchief to cover their heads from sunlight as city temperature reach 36 degree celsius in Himeji, Japan. A natural disaster has been declared as thousands of people have been taken to hospital with heat stroke as the death toll continues to rise in Japan following the record-breaking heat wave. © Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images Corn cobs unable to reach maturity stage due to intense heat and prolonged dry spell in Southern Denmark close to the German border near Flensburg. © Bente Stachowske / Greenpeace An activist holds a banner reading "Climate Crisis" on the banks of the Elbe river in Dresden. © Chris Grodotzki / Greenpeace Next

As a consequence of extreme heat, comes forest fires. In Russia, Greece, and California, these forest fires have caused mass devastation, with millions affected and tragically, lives lost.

Previous People watch flames as night falls during the Holy Fire near Corona, California. © David McNew / Greenpeace The 10 Tanker Air Carrier DC10 firefighting jet drops fire retardant during the Holy Fire near Lake Elsinore, California. © David McNew / Greenpeace Water dropped from a Super Scooper firefighting plane falls to scorched ground covered with red fire retardant from a firefighting jet during the Holy Fire near Lake Elsinore, California. © David McNew / Greenpeace Brushy, drylands in California between Orange and Riverside counties continue to burn, leading to more than 20,000 evacuations from a fire. © David McNew / Greenpeace A firefighting helicopter drops water to extinguish flames during a wildfire at the village of Kineta, near Athens. Photo: VALERIE GACHE/AFP/Getty Images © VALERIE GACHE/AFP/Getty Images Next

But it’s not just the bash heating in the northern hemisphere that has been felt. In other areas like southern France and India, there has been more flooding than usual. In the Philippines, a country that experiences up to 20 typhoons a year, the impact of single-use plastic has been seen after a heavy storm, with mountains of plastic washing up on the shorelines, and garbage clogging up drainways and causing flooding.

Previous The shore forms like a quicksand texture due to the amount of smashed bits of plastic that scattered around the bay area after Typhoon Yagi, in Manila, Philippines. © Jilson Tiu / Greenpeace Mounds of plastic trash are carried away into the shores of Manila Bay by monsoon and Typhoon Yagi (local name Karding) in Manila, Philippines. © Jilson Tiu / Greenpeace Mounds of plastic trash are carried away into the shores of Manila Bay by monsoon and Typhoon Yagi (local name Karding) in Manila, Philippines. © Jilson Tiu / Greenpeace Mounds of plastic trash are carried away into the shores of Manila Bay by monsoon and Typhoon Yagi (local name Karding) in Manila, Philippines. © Jilson Tiu / Greenpeace Next

Climate change does not know any borders, continents or hemisphere. These photos, and the fact that there is a very clear pattern happening around the world right now represent the stark action that must be done. We must keep temperatures within the 1.5C Paris agreement and that means curbing the use of fossil fuels, encouraging governments and companies to stop funding coal projects and pipelines, and more importantly, share what is happening with your friends, family, and colleagues. We know that there are hundreds of thousands of committed people across the world who long to see a greener and peaceful future. The power of people works like a chain reaction to inspire each other towards a collective greater goal. By seeing images like this, we can come to understand the issue, rally together, and force governments and corporations to take steps.

Inspiration is contagious.