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Northern hemisphere swelters under extreme heat

Jul 28, 2025, 6:31am EDT
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A wildfire in Turkey.
Ihlas News Agency (IHA)/via Reuters

North America, the Middle East, and Europe are sweltering under dangerous heat.

Wildfires are raging in Greece and Turkey, and the latter saw its highest ever temperature, 50.5°C (122.9°F). Iran saw even higher readings last week, forcing banks and businesses in the capital to shut down because the power infrastructure, damaged by recent Israeli attacks, could not cope.

A heat dome over the eastern US, meanwhile, is expected to put 150 million people — nearly half the country’s population — at risk of heat effects today, and the US may see record-breaking temperatures in the middle of the week, Scientific American reported.

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