A dangerous heat wave gripping Europe led to record temperatures and weather warnings across the continent.
France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain are experiencing the most extreme conditions, caused by a high-pressure “heat dome” over Western Europe, with southwest Spain suffering a record 114.8°F (46°C).
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, partly due to its proximity to the Arctic — the polar region is seeing temperatures rise four times faster than global averages — and, paradoxically, to its success in reducing pollution: Particulates in the atmosphere masked some of the warming effect of carbon emissions, and as the air has become cleaner, that masking has been reduced.
AD