Europe is gripped by major heatwave

A HEATWAVE gripping parts of Europe sent temperatures over 40C in southern France and the western Balkans yesterday, fuelling wildfires, triggering top-level weather alerts and forcing evacuations in several countries across what scientists warn is the world’s fastest-warming continent.

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Fires burned in France’s Aude wine region, along Bulgaria's southern borders, near Montenegro’s capital and coast, and in Turkey's north west - while Hungary recorded record-breaking weekend temperatures.

The year 2025 is predicted to be the second or third-warmest on record, according to the UK-based Carbon Brief. The extreme heat in Europe fits that global pattern, but the continent is heating far faster than the rest of the world.

Land temperatures have risen about 2.3C above pre-industrial levels, nearly twice the global average, intensifying heatwaves and driving record fire seasons.