Large areas of southern Europe — in France, Spain and Italy — baked under extreme temperatures yesterday, the latest in a string of heat waves that have scorched the continent over the summer.
Many areas sweltered under temperatures of 86 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, or 30 to 35 degrees Celsius, and some topped 104 degrees.
Although it is difficult to link individual events to climate change, scientists say that it is fueling more extreme weather events, and heat waves in Europe have increased in frequency and intensity more quickly than practically anywhere else on the planet.
In Greece, firefighters are still battling scores of blazes nationwide. But the threat to Mount Parnitha, a protected wildlife area widely known as the “lungs” of Athens, has provoked special anger among residents.
