PARIS (AP) — A heat wave gripping parts of Europe sent temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius (109.4 Fahrenheit) in southern France and the Western Balkans on Monday, fueling wildfires, triggering top-level weather alerts and forcing evacuations in several countries across what scientists warn is the world’s fastest-warming continent.

Fires burned in France’s Aude wine region, along Bulgaria’s southern borders, near Montenegro’s capital and coast, and in Turkey’s northwest — and Hungary recorded record-breaking weekend temperatures.

2025 is predicted to be the second- or third-warmest year on record, according to the U.K.-based Carbon Brief. The extreme heat in Europe fits that global pattern — but the continent is heating far faster than the rest of the world.

Land temperatures have rise

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