‘Like working in a volcano’: stories from six countries in Europe on a day of extreme heat

Uncontrolled fire rages across the grasslands in the Segarra region, in the rural province of Lleida, Spain. Photograph: Agents Rurals de Catalunya/AP

Hundreds of millions of people across Europe suffered an extreme heatwave this week, with temperatures smashing records as the continent sweltered.

With the human-caused climate emergency pushing the mercury ever higher, early in the summer Europe is experiencing troubling temperatures.