France Heatwave

France this year experienced the hottest year since records began, the country's national weather service said Wednesday, as global warming stokes temperatures globally.

Three heatwaves since June produced France's second-hottest summer since records began in 1900, the Meteo France weather service said Tuesday, warning that scorching temperatures will be increasingly common.

Firefighters from across Europe came to France's rescue on Friday to battle a massive wildfire, while fire also raged in Portugal and parts of England faced a severe drought, as successive heatwaves renewed the focus on climate change risks.

Experts blame climate change for the latest heatwave and note the more frequent extreme weather will only worsen in years to come.

Europe Heatwave: Europe largest sand dune, Dune de Pilat in France is on fire after record heatwave in Europe. Its height are deserted, covered in smoke as fire service planes are overhead to douse the fire.

Europe's increasingly frequent heatwaves are back under the spotlight over devastating wildfires and with sweltering temperatures forecast to hit record highs in Britain and France this week.

Wildfires raged in southwestern France and Spain on Saturday, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes as blistering summer temperatures put authorities on alert in parts of Europe.

Spain, France and other western European nations on Saturday sweltered under a blistering June heatwave that has sparked forest fires and concerns that such early summer blasts of hot weather will now become the norm.

France, Spain and other western European nations braced on Saturday for a sweltering June weekend that is set to break records and sparked concern about forest fires and the effects of climate change.

France saw a record level of traffic jams on Saturday, with cars stuck in gridlock on roasting roads spanning 820 kilometres across a country suffering a brutal heatwave.

Heatwaves in June and July caused about 1,500 more deaths than usual in France over that period, though the figure was far lower than in the summer of 2003, the country's health minister said on Sunday.

Paris on Thursday recorded its hottest temperature since records began, Meteo France said, as a heatwave spread across Europe.

Man-made climate change probably made last month's European heatwave, in which southern France experienced a national record 45.9 degrees Celsius, 4C (7F) hotter than it would otherwise have been, scientists said on Tuesday.

Hundreds of firefighters battled on Saturday to contain wildfires in southern France as a stifling heatwave brought record-breaking temperatures to parts of Europe, killing at least three people in Italy.

The temperature in France on Friday surpassed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time as Europe wilted in a major heatwave, state weather forecaster Meteo-France said.

France this year experienced the hottest year since records began, the country's national weather service said Wednesday, as global warming stokes temperatures globally.

Three heatwaves since June produced France's second-hottest summer since records began in 1900, the Meteo France weather service said Tuesday, warning that scorching temperatures will be increasingly common.

Firefighters from across Europe came to France's rescue on Friday to battle a massive wildfire, while fire also raged in Portugal and parts of England faced a severe drought, as successive heatwaves renewed the focus on climate change risks.

Experts blame climate change for the latest heatwave and note the more frequent extreme weather will only worsen in years to come.

Europe Heatwave: Europe largest sand dune, Dune de Pilat in France is on fire after record heatwave in Europe. Its height are deserted, covered in smoke as fire service planes are overhead to douse the fire.

Europe's increasingly frequent heatwaves are back under the spotlight over devastating wildfires and with sweltering temperatures forecast to hit record highs in Britain and France this week.

Wildfires raged in southwestern France and Spain on Saturday, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes as blistering summer temperatures put authorities on alert in parts of Europe.

Spain, France and other western European nations on Saturday sweltered under a blistering June heatwave that has sparked forest fires and concerns that such early summer blasts of hot weather will now become the norm.

France, Spain and other western European nations braced on Saturday for a sweltering June weekend that is set to break records and sparked concern about forest fires and the effects of climate change.

France saw a record level of traffic jams on Saturday, with cars stuck in gridlock on roasting roads spanning 820 kilometres across a country suffering a brutal heatwave.

Heatwaves in June and July caused about 1,500 more deaths than usual in France over that period, though the figure was far lower than in the summer of 2003, the country's health minister said on Sunday.

Paris on Thursday recorded its hottest temperature since records began, Meteo France said, as a heatwave spread across Europe.

Man-made climate change probably made last month's European heatwave, in which southern France experienced a national record 45.9 degrees Celsius, 4C (7F) hotter than it would otherwise have been, scientists said on Tuesday.

Hundreds of firefighters battled on Saturday to contain wildfires in southern France as a stifling heatwave brought record-breaking temperatures to parts of Europe, killing at least three people in Italy.

The temperature in France on Friday surpassed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time as Europe wilted in a major heatwave, state weather forecaster Meteo-France said.