Wildfires burn across Europe as countries including Spain and Turkey hit 40C

Wildfires burn across Europe as countries including Spain and Turkey hit 40C

Wildfires burned in parts of Europe on Tuesday as millions of people across the continent struggled to adapt to the new reality: record summer heat. Europe – where temperatures in some areas were soaring past 40C – is warming faster than any other continent, at twice the speed of the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Last year was the hottest year on record in Europe and globally, the monitoring agency said. Scientists warn climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making parts of Europe more vulnerable to wildfires. The burning of fuels such as petrol, oil and coal release heat-trapping gasses that are the m