Over the weekend, temperatures in various parts of Europe exceeded 40 degrees Celsius as a summer heatwave tightened its grip on the continent, UNN reports, citing DW.
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In Spain, the temperature reached 46°C on Sunday in the town of El Granado, near the border with Portugal, setting a new national heat record in June. The previous June high of 45.2°C was set in Seville in 1965.
Temperatures above 40°C were also expected in neighboring Portugal, and in the capital Lisbon, a "red heat warning" was issued for Monday evening due to "persistently very high maximum temperatures," according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere.
In Italy, 21 cities, including Milan, Naples, Venice, Florence, and Rome, were put on high alert as extreme heat engulfed the entire country.
Local authorities in Greece also issued new warnings about the risk of forest fires.
The hot weather is expected to continue into the beginning of the week, with temperatures in London forecast to reach 35°C on Monday, making it the hottest day of the year so far.
Wimbledon is preparing for its hottest opening ever, which could break the tournament's all-time heat record. The current opening day maximum is 29.3°C, set in 2001. The hottest day in Wimbledon history was 35.7°C on July 1, 2015.
The German Meteorological Service on Sunday issued a heat warning for southern and western regions, with peaks of 39°C expected on Wednesday. The warning was issued for the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland.
French firefighters battled early summer forest fires, with an orange alert declared in several parts of the country.
Fires in the Corbières region led to evacuations as temperatures soared above 40°C, peaking at 40.9°C in Grosspierre.
Some sections of the A61 motorway were closed, and a campsite in Bizanet was evacuated after a smoldering charcoal barbecue in a trailer caused several fires, according to local civil defense authorities.
Meteorologists warn that heatwaves are becoming more frequent and occurring earlier in the season due to anthropogenic climate change.
Spain's state meteorological agency AEMET noted that only two heatwaves were recorded in June between 1975 and 2000. Since 2000, their number has increased to nine. This year, August-like temperatures arrived before the end of May.
"Heatwaves will become more frequent and intense," warned Emanuela Pierantali, a researcher at the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA).
"In the future, further temperature increases and extreme temperatures are expected, so we will have to get used to temperatures with peaks even higher than those we are experiencing now," she said.
In France, experts warned that the heat is harming biodiversity.
"In some nests, temperatures reach over 40°C," said Allan Bougrain-Dubourg of the League for the Protection of Birds, adding that their bird care centers are overflowing due to suffering birds.