Europe is experiencing its fifth heat wave this season with temperatures nearing forty degrees Celsius. The United Kingdom and France are preparing for extreme heat and potential health impacts. Record-breaking sea surface temperatures and global averages highlight ongoing climate change concerns. Persistent high-pressure systems are trapping heat and intensifying widespread drought conditions across the continent. This extreme weather is reinforcing the cyclical nature of heat and drought, impacting populations significantly.

France is bracing for its fifth heat wave alert of the season, adding to an intense stretch of hot weather that has repeatedly sent temperatures soaring across the country since…

The heat waves toppled an average temperature record for the June-July period set in 2022, according to the European climate agency Copernicus.