A staff member of the French Red Cross distributes bottled water to the homeless in Toulouse in southwestern France on June 17. Photo: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images
A heat wave continued to sear Europe on Sunday, as several places saw record-breaking temperatures.
The big picture: The heat wave, which brought temperatures over 110°F (43.3°C) in parts of France and Spain on Saturday, is the earliest on record in a number of European countries.
Driving the news: Parts of France, Austria and Germany posted more record-breaking temperatures on Sunday.
- Two areas in France — Chambery-Aix les Bains and Langres — broke temperature records for June on Sunday, according to the French meteorological service on Twitter. Chambery-Aix les Bains reached a new high of 98°F (36.7°C), while Langres reached 95.5°F (35.3°C).
- The Austrian state of Vorarlberg reached 97.7°F (36.5°C), breaking the previous record from 1950, according to the Austrian meteorological service on Twitter.
- A station in Cottbus, Germany, recorded a new all-time high for any month, with temperatures reaching 102.6°F (39.2°C), the German meteorological service reported on Twitter.
More details: Firefighters also continued to battle wildfires in Spain and Germany, according to Al Jazeera.
- Wildfires have burned more than 61,000 acres in the northwest province of Zamora in Spain, Al Jazeera reported.
- In Germany, officials evacuated three villages near Berlin due to an approaching wildfire, according to Al Jazeera.
Our thought bubble, from Axios' Andrew Freedman: This is now one of the worst June heat waves on record in parts of Western Europe. Human-caused climate change is making such events more common, severe and long-lasting.