As an early summer heatwave struck Europe on Monday, firefighters fought flames in Turkey and France and evacuated over 50,000 people.
France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Germany all issued health alerts. Even the Netherlands, which is accustomed to a gentler climate, warned of high temperatures and high humidity in the days ahead.
Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, stated that “extreme heat and heatwave conditions that are normally observed in July or August, rather than June,” are occurring across large portions of Western Europe.
According to her, temperatures in some areas were 5–10 degrees Celsius higher than they should have been at this time of year.
