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Heatwave Shatters Temperature Milestones Across Europe

Extreme heat is shattering temperature records across Europe and driving larger and more powerful wildfires, early measurements suggest.
Weather records were broken on Monday in several regions of southwestern France due to temperatures 12C above the norm for the last few decades. Météo France noted that the maximum temperatures in the region were “often remarkable, even unprecedented.” In Croatia, new temperature records were set in Šibenik and Dubrovnik, and forest fires raged along the coast and affected neighboring countries in the Balkans.
Beyond Europe, numerous temperature records fell across Canada, and extreme heat above 50C in Iraq led to a nationwide blackout. The ongoing heatwave in southern Europe comes as cooler regions such as the Nordic countries are still recovering from unprecedented temperatures above 30C in the Arctic Circle this month.

Bob Ward, a policy director at the Grantham Research Institute, stated the recent summer, like every summer now, has seen exceptional extreme heat worldwide.
While the high temperatures did not break a significant number of records in Italy and Spain, the heat still raised concerns. Italy experienced red heat alerts in 16 out of 27 major cities, and Spain had a man die from wildfire burns.
José Camacho, a climate scientist, added that the main characteristic of the heatwave is its length and extent, rather than its intensity, which is still very high.
In France, 40% of the weather stations recorded temperatures above 40C on Monday, according to climate scientist Lauriane Batté. The geographic reach of the heatwave is substantial, with more than half of the 51 heatwaves in France occurring in the last 15 years, indicating a clear warming trend.

The hot weather in Europe has dried out vegetation, allowing wildfires to spread more extensively, creating what scientists describe as a “molotov cocktail” of climatic conditions. The European Union’s fire scientists project “extreme to very extreme” wildfire conditions across the continent this week, particularly in southern Europe and parts of the Nordics.
Wildfires in Europe have already burned more than 400,000 hectares this year, an increase of 87% compared to the last two decades.
High heat leads to tens of thousands of deaths each year in Europe. It is estimated that by the end of the century, stronger heat will claim 8,000 to 80,000 more lives annually, outweighing the lives saved from milder cold weather.
Antonio Gasparrini, an epidemiologist, exclaimed that implementing effective and diverse public health measures is critical as heatwaves occur more frequently.
The World Meteorological Organization reported that wildfires and poor air quality are intensifying the negative health effects of extreme heat. They emphasized that temperatures have exceeded 42C in various regions worldwide, stating, “This is what climate change looks like.”
Ward added, “And it will only get worse.”

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/13/temperature-records-heatwave-europe-france-croatia-wildfires

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