Europe is in the grip of an early-season heatwave, with record May temperatures driven by a “heat dome” of hot air over the western part of the continent. Scientists point to human-caused emissions, shifting atmospheric patterns and rapid Arctic warming as key factors amplifying extreme heat across the region.
Europe, which is in the throes of a record-smashing heatwave this week, is the world's fastest-warming continent and stretches into an even more rapidly heating Arctic.
