An early June heat wave has broken records and ignited wildfires in Western Europe, leading to concerns that this could be the new normal as the climate crisis makes extreme weather events like heat waves more frequent and intense.
Spain experienced temperatures that it normally doesn’t see until August, according to AP News, while France saw its earliest heat wave on record since 1947, as France 24 reported. The European heat wave came as much of the U.S. also sweltered under unusually warm temperatures for June.
“As a result of climate change, heatwaves are starting earlier,” World Meteorological Organization spokeswoman Clare Nullis told The Independent of the heat wave. “What we’re witnessing today is unfortunately a foretaste of the future.”
Temperatures in France spiked Friday and Saturday, with 11 different areas breaking June records on Friday, as France 24 reported. The coastal town of Biarritz broke an all-time record by hitting 41 degrees Celsius on Saturday.
Meteo France climatologist Matthieu Sorel predicted more record-breaking temperatures and called the heat wave a “marker of climate change.”
More than sheep had to be evacuated in Spain, where wildfires have forced hundreds from their homes, The Washington Post reported. The largest fire is in Zamora, in the northwest of the country, and has burned through 74,000 acres, AP News reported Monday. The fire was ignited by a lightning strike Wednesday and was fanned by a combination of high heat, a period of low rainfall and high wind. Around 15 villages in the region of Navarra were also evacuated as a safety precaution in response to the fires.
