Areas of Europe home to at least 92 million people -- particularly in France, Italy, and Spain -- are set for temperatures over 35C on Wednesday in the continent's latest heatwave, according to AFP calculations.
Europe is the planet's fastest-warming continent and in some places is ill-equipped to deal with hot weather. Repeated heatwaves have fuelled a historically hot summer of drought and wildfires, and contributed to the deaths of thousands of people so far.
Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming, primarily caused by burning coal, oil and gas -- and warn they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.
Temperatures are also forecast to surpass 30C for more than half of Europe's population on Wednesday, excluding Turkey, amounting to around 300 million people, according to an analysis based on German weather service forecasts and 2025 population projections from the Joint Research Centre.
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