China
Tourists flocked to a giant thermometer in China showing surface temperatures of 80 degrees Celsius (176 degress Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, the latest extreme weather sparking havoc and curiosity around the world.
On Tuesday, the capital, Beijing, logged its 27th day of temperatures of more than 35C (95F), setting a new record for the most number of high-temperature days in a year.
On Sunday, a remote township in the Turpan Depression registered a maximum temperature of 52.2C (126F), smashing China’s national record of 50.3C (122.5F) that was also set in the basin in 2015.
Greece
Wildfires burned for a third day west of the Greek capital, Athens, with air water bombers resuming operations at first light and firefighters working throughout the night to keep flames away from a complex of coastal refineries.
Fire spokesman Yannis Artopios called it “a difficult day”, with another heatwave on the horizon for Thursday, with expected temperatures of 44C (111F).
Italy
The Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily have been forecast to possibly surpass a continent-wide record of 48.8C (120F) recorded in Sicily in August 2021.
In the Sardinian capital of Cagliari, pharmacist Teresa Angioni said patients were complaining of heat-related symptoms.
Spain
“We’re all suffocating!” Spanish television presenter Silvia Intxaurrondo shouted in front of the running cameras of the state TV channel RTVE as the peak of the third heatwave of the summer in Spain made locals and tourists sweat profusely.
France
In southern France, a record 29.5C (85.1F) was recorded in the Alpine ski resort of Alpe d’Huez, while 40.6C (105.1F) had been recorded for the first time in Verdun in the foothills of the Pyrenees.
Canary Islands
In the Canary Islands, some 400 firefighters battled a blaze that has ravaged 3,500 hectares (8,650 acres) of forest and forced 4,000 people to evacuate, with authorities warning residents to wear face masks outside due to poor air quality.
United States
In the town of San Angelo, Texas, where temperatures were expected to reach 40-42C (104-108F), the National Weather Service said it was “running out of ways to say that it’s gonna be hot out there today”.
In Arizona, the mercury at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport again reached 43.3C (110F) on Tuesday, breaking the previous record of 18 consecutive days at or above that temperature, set in 1974.