Europe is bracing for more extreme heat after record May temperatures swept across Britain, Ireland and France this week – with scientists saying a “heat dome” over western Europe is combining with human-driven climate change, shifting weather patterns and rapid Arctic warming to intensify heat across the world’s fastest-warming continent.
The high-pressure system trapping warm air from northern Africa over western Europe has pushed temperatures to levels more commonly seen in midsummer. More intense heat is forecast in the coming days.
