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July 17, 2022

Anna Murray 

In Europe, temperatures are shattering records; the UK has issued heat warnings for the upcoming week; and firemen are fighting to put out wildfires from Portugal in the west to Turkey in the east.

On July 15, British officials released their first-ever "red" alert for intense heat early next week, proclaiming a national emergency, since analysts expect unprecedented temperatures place even healthy individuals at danger of serious disease and death.

With temperatures projected to exceed 104 degrees next week, the U.K. also declared its first-ever Level 4 national emergency as a result of the heatwave. Historically, the highest temperature ever recorded in Britain was 101.7 degrees, which was attained in Cambridge in 2019.

Portugal recorded 238 additional deaths brought on by the heatwave from July 7 to July 13, while in the first three days of the heatwave, Spain recorded 84 additional deaths due to the excessive temperatures, with one city in northwest Spain experiencing a record-breaking high temperature of 109.76 degrees on July 12. At the same time, a fire that has destroyed about 18,000 acres and prompted thousands of people to flee their homes in the southwest of France was being fought by more than 1,000 firemen.