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The heatwave sweeping across Europe right now has the entire continent in a chokehold. More than 191 million people are facing temperatures of at least 35°C (95°F).
Extreme heat warnings have been issued across the region, and temperature records are being broken almost daily. These photos show just how wild it’s gotten.
Germany, Czechia, Poland and Hungary all hit temperatures above 40°C (104°F) on Sunday. The UK broke its record for the hottest June day for a third consecutive day on Friday, reaching 37.3°C (99.1°F).
And in France, the town of Pissos in Landes reached 44.3°C (111.7°F), officially marking the hottest day in the country’s recorded history.
The human cost has been staggering. The World Health Organization (WHO) has linked the heatwave to more than 1,300 people losing their lives across Europe so far.
Some drowned while trying to cool off in water, while others were overwhelmed by health complications or got stuck in overheated cars. Even hospitals are struggling to stay cool, and some public transport has become unbearable.
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The heatwave is being driven by a surge of hot, dry air from North Africa that has become trapped over parts of the continent, Time reports.
Weather systems on both sides are blocking it from moving on, essentially locking Europe under a dome of extreme heat. And according to climate experts, episodes like this are only going to get worse.
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Heatwaves are becoming more intense and more frequent because of climate change. An April report from the Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization found that Europe is warming at twice the global average.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that what used to be a “once-in-a-generation” heatwave is now happening nearly every year. Last year was already the third hottest on record.
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These temperatures might not sound extreme compared to hotter parts of the world, but for much of Europe they are genuinely dangerous. A lot of the continent’s infrastructure was never built for this.
Northern European homes were designed to trap warmth during cold winters, and in the UK, only about 5% of houses have air conditioning. Across Europe as a whole, roughly one-fifth of households have AC compared to 90% in the US.
