People bathe in the sunshine at a beach in Brighton, United Kingdom, on Tuesday, as temperatures continue to soar. GARETH FULLER/AP
PARIS — Europe, which is in the throes of a record-smashing heat wave this week, is the world's fastest-warming continent and stretches into an even more rapidly heating Arctic.
After record-high temperatures for May were broken in Britain, Ireland and France on Monday and Tuesday, the continent still faces more brutal heat in the coming days.
A so-called "heat dome" of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the sort of heat not usually seen until high summer. The planet is around 1.4 C warmer than in preindustrial times, defined as 1850-1900.
By comparison, Europe is around 2.4 C hotter than the preindustrial era, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service.
