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Heatwaves like the one recorded in France on Monday are a sign of an increase in heat waves in Europe, a direct result of global warming.
Greenhouse gas emissions increase the intensity and duration of heat waves, especially in Europe, which is the fastest warming region in the world, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
AFP looks back at the biggest heat waves to hit Europe since the early 21st century.
Europe in 2024 experienced its second-hottest July on record.
Greece recorded its hottest July since 1960, according to preliminary weather data.
Italy was hit by its worst drought in half a century and was hit by scorching heat.
In Croatia's 1000 Islands, home to some of the country's most beautiful beaches in the Adriatic, daytime temperatures reached almost 40 degrees Celsius, as did many parts of Spain and southern France.
Europe was hit by a heatwave in mid-July, with damage particularly severe in the Mediterranean coastal areas of Greece, where large-scale fires broke out, and Italy, where temperatures reached 44°C on the island of Sicily on July 18.
The European climate change observatory Copernicus said that at the peak of the heatwave in July, 41 percent of southern Europe was affected by “severe heat stress with associated health hazards”.
Temperatures rose again in southern Europe in late August, with a temperature of 43°C (113°F) recorded in drought-stricken Zaragoza, Spain, on 23 August.
An early heatwave hit southern and central Europe in mid-June, with temperatures reaching 42-43°C in France and breaking June records in Austria and Germany.
A new heatwave hit Western Europe in July, accompanied by devastating forest fires, particularly in Spain and France.
Temperatures in the UK exceeded 40°C for the first time on record.
According to Copernicus, the summer of 2022 was Europe's hottest on record.
A joint study by the French and Spanish National Institute of Health (INSERM) and ISGlobal estimated that the heat caused more than 60,000 deaths in 35 European countries that summer.
Greece was hit by a heatwave from late July to early August 2021, with temperatures soaring to nearly 45 degrees Celsius, the worst since 1987, according to the government.
In Spain, temperatures reached 45°C (113°F) in the southern regions of Andalusia and Murcia between August 11 and 16.
In the summer of 2019, Europe was hit by two heat waves, one in late June and the other in late July.
On June 28, France recorded its hottest ever temperature, hitting 46°C in the southern city of Vérargues.
Record temperatures were also recorded in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom on July 24-25.
Late July and early August 2018 was a time of extremely hot weather and severe drought, which led to the drying up of European water resources such as the Danube and caused widespread forest fires in Portugal and Spain.
Europe was hit by several heatwaves between late June and early August, especially in the south, and a prolonged drought in Portugal led to sometimes deadly forest fires.
On July 13, the highest temperature recorded in Spain was 46.9°C in the southern city of Cordoba.
A heatwave hit Europe early in the season in late June, with a maximum temperature of 36.7°C recorded in England in early July.
From late June to the end of July, central and southern Europe experienced an extended period of hot and dry conditions, conditions that killed 500 people in Hungary and sparked numerous forest fires in Italy, Macedonia, and Serbia.
Western Europe recorded unusually high temperatures in August, especially in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
On August 1st, a record temperature of 47.3°C was recorded in Amarereja, southern Portugal.
Scientists estimated that heatwaves in the summer of 2003 killed 70,000 people in 16 European countries, mostly in France and Italy.
As a result, early warning and alert systems have been implemented in several countries.
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