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Heat waves overlap as warming climate makes extreme temperatures more likely
Pick a spot on Earth. Chances are, there's a climate emergency unfolding there right now.
International
Pick a spot on Earth. Chances are, there's a climate emergency unfolding there right now.
Parts of North America, Europe, Africa and Asia are sweltering under extreme heat, with record-breaking temperatures baking regions of the world already grappling with wildfires and severe drought.
In the United Kingdom, a new provisional record of 104.5 degrees Fahrenheit was observed Tuesday, obliterating the country's previous high of 101.6 F that was set just three years ago. Firefighters in France, Spain, Portugal and Greece have been battling wildfires that are ravaging a southern swath of the continent.
And this month, two melting glaciers — in Italy and Kyrgyzstan — collapsed within a week, triggering avalanches of snow and ice that killed at least 11 hikers in Italy's Dolomites region.
Across the Atlantic, more than 140 million Americans are preparing for a blistering heat wave that is set to blanket much of the country, from central California across the Mississippi River Valley and into the Northeast.
Wildfires and record heat in North Africa have devastated the country's grain harvest, and after a brief respite, parts of Asia are bracing for the return of triple-digit temperatures this week.