A heat wave gripping parts of Europe sent temperatures over 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit — 40 degrees Celsius — in southern France and the Western Balkans on Monday, fueling wildfires and triggering top-level weather alerts 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 risen about 2.3 C above p

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