Europe swelters under record-breaking heatwave

AFP estimates based on analysis of forecasts from the German weather service and 2025 population projections from Europe's Joint Research Centre suggest maximum temperatures will surpass 30C for over 350 million people — more than two-thirds of the continent's population.

The effects of the extreme weather, with temperatures hotter than parts of east and west Africa, have been made worse by buildings and infrastructure not designed to cope with high temperatures, and is being driven by atmospheric patterns trapping hot air.

But a scientific study published this week said the current heatwave was "significantly exacerbated by human-induced climate change", without which the current temperatures would have been 2-4C cooler.