Europe swelters under record-breaking heat wave

Europe is sweltering under a deadly, record-breaking heat wave this week. According to Axios, France has set a new national temperature record of forty-three point eight degrees Celsius — that's one hundred ten point eighty-four degrees Fahrenheit — reached in the western town of Palluau. The United Kingdom also broke its June temperature record at thirty-six point seven degrees Celsius. The human cost is staggering: Spain has reported at least two hundred twelve heat-related deaths, Italy five, and France forty drowning deaths as people desperately sought relief in water. A World Weather Attribution analysis found that human-caused climate change made this extreme heat virtually impossible fifty years ago. Research shows that roughly forty-five percent of European cities analyzed have either already broken or are predicted to break their highest heat stress records. Scientists warn that extreme heat waves are becoming increasingly hotter, more frequent, and longer-lasting as climate change accelerates.

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