Scorching temperatures are sweeping across western Europe, with the UK hitting an all-time heat record, fires raging in France and Spain and a worsening drought in Portugal. Meanwhile, millions of Americans will see temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius) this week. If you’re just reading, here’s what you need to know: Record temperatures plague regions of Europe: The UK recorded a temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), temporarily breaking the previous record of 38.7 degrees Celsius (101 degrees Fahrenheit). The record was set at Heathrow in west London, home to the capital’s main airport, according to the UK Met Office. Germany is bracing for temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas on Tuesday and Wednesday. Extreme high temperatures will cause dryness and drought in some areas across Germany and the risk of wildfires remains very high, experts say. Belgium has extended the “red” weather warning to a third region of the country. “There is a sufficient chance that at least 25% of the province will reach 40 degrees,” said the head of forecasting at a Belgian meteorological institute. A French town of Cazaux recorded 42.4 degrees Celsius (108.3 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday – the hottest it has seen since its weather station first opened more than 100 years ago in 1921 – according to the French national meteorological service Météo France. Sweden on Tuesday issued an orange warning for extremely high temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in the southern part of the country for Wednesday and Thursday. Hundreds of people have died in Portugal, where high temperatures are exacerbating a severe drought with the health ministry saying at least 659 mostly elderly people have died in the past seven days, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, in the US, about a third of the population is on a heat alert for Tuesday and Wednesday as dangerous heat peaks today and tomorrow across much of the country. Nearly 20% of the US population, or about 60 million people, will likely see a temperature of 37.7 degrees Celsius or over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius). Among the hardest-hit areas are the southern plains, including Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, where intense heat will linger through at least Tuesday. The fires are raging with the risk of spreading further: “Very extreme risk” of fire – the highest level of risk on the weather fire index (FWI) scale – is forecast for Spain, France, Italy and the UK on Tuesday, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). A third fire broke out in the Gironde region of western France, prompting the evacuation of 500 more people, according to the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Gironde region. A total of 19,300 hectares (over 47,000 acres) had already burned from the other two fires in the Gironde. In total, 37,000 people have been evacuated. In Spain, fires swept through the central region of Castile and Leon, as well as the northern region of Galicia on Sunday, Reuters reported. At least two people have died and about 8,000 people have been evacuated so far as wildfires burn across Spain, a government spokesman said. More than 70,000 hectares (over 172,000 acres) have been destroyed in Spain by fires this year, authorities say. The London Fire Brigade has declared a “major incident” as firefighters battle several “significant” blazes across the British capital on Tuesday during record heat, it said in a tweet. It comes as around 100 firefighters and 15 fire crews tackle fires burning in Wennington, outside London, the Fire Service said on Twitter. Severe weather also hampers travel: On Monday, one of the UK’s biggest airports suspended flights after high temperatures destroyed a runway. The Royal Air Force also grounded all flights to and from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, its largest airbase, after Sky News reported that part of the runway had “melted”. Also in London, commuters have been told not to use the city’s transport services unless for “essential journeys”, Transport for London chief operating officer Andy Lord advised. Network Rail, which owns and operates British rail, has asked people not to travel on Tuesday due to the extreme heat. Spain also suspended train services in the northwest of the country between Madrid and Galicia due to a fire near the tracks, according to state railway company RENFE. The effects of climate change: These temperatures are surprising in the UK because they don’t often reach this level, and while they are not so surprising in Spain, Portugal and France, they are becoming more frequent and greater even in parts of Europe that are used to cope with the heat. . Human-induced climate change is, in general, making the world warmer, extreme heat more likely, and heat waves more painfully prolonged. Scientists concerned with attributing the role of the climate crisis to extreme weather events now say that each heat wave can be assumed to have been exacerbated by climate change, caused mainly by human burning of fossil fuels.
