The heat dome is part of a united block of subtropical high pressure zones encircling the Northern Hemisphere.
Continuing as the hemisphere approaches the climatological peak of summer, the conditions are punishing those under its influence.
In addition to records in Europe and the Middle East, zones ranging from China and Japan to the Caribbean Sea and portions of the Americas are witnessing record high temperatures in recent days.
Extreme readings are poised to persist, with perhaps even an increase in heat before an eventual relaxation next week in Europe.
Where is the worst of this round of heat?
Across inland areas near the boiling Mediterranean Sea, today’s highs rose to at least 49.7C in Gilgal and 48.6C in Jericho. The former is a record for Israel with the latter a record for the West Bank, according to climate historian Maximilliano Herrera.
Israel and Jordan saw similarly intense values yesterday, and temperatures rose as high as 45C on the island nation of Cyprus.
Right on the coast, heat is often somewhat less intense but the humidity more than makes up for it.
Mediterranean and Red Sea waters are running as much as 10F above average, leading to marine heatwaves that are pumping moisture into the nearby air.
Feels-like readings at the 48C level are also reaching for records in locations such as Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis is ongoing, power resources are extremely limited, and air conditioning is impossible to find.
Much of the vast swathe from the Iberian Peninsula, eastward through Europe and into Asia will continue to experience day-after-day of extreme heat.
Highs are forecast to rise to around 43.3C in southern Spain again tomorrow, where a third firefighter reportedly died battling blazes in the country today and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the “threat remains extreme”.
Other major fires are ongoing amid heat and drought further east in Greece, while Turkey has reported some progress in combating fires there.
In France, extreme heat warnings are in place for portions of the country’s south, including Lyon and around Marseille.
Highs are expected to reach 40.5C into central portions of the country again tomorrow, following several days in which dozens of records have been set for daytime highs up to 45C, including an record of 41.6C in Bordeaux on Tuesday.
Records for warm lows are also being demolished across the region, making the heat even more problematic. These include a minimum of 37.2C in Sedom, Israel, for a national record.
Across Europe in particular, many regions have comparatively limited air conditioning, making them prone to dangerous consequences during extended heat episodes, especially when temperatures do not drop well at night.
Extreme heat spells keep coming
It’s the latest of exceptional heatwaves over recent months and years that are being worsened by human-caused climate change.
Europe has witnessed a string of atypically hot summers across the 2020s thus far.
Its 2024 was the hottest on record, besting 2023, which surpassed high marks from 2022 and 2021.
Multiple years in that stretch also either ended up the hottest on record for the region or among the hottest.
World Weather Attribution, a group doing rapid research on extreme weather events, released a latest report yesterday that found that a July heatwave in Norway, Sweden and Finland was made 10 times more likely by climate change.
Heat will dislodge for some
Although there may be a briefly higher pulse of heat for Britain and surrounding locations, cooler air will push southward to cover much of the Nordic region and eventually into Eastern Europe this weekend into next week.
It could take up to another week for some of that to work into France and eventually the Iberian Peninsula.
There are also signs that heat will make a resurgence thereafter. By the end of August, it should be comparatively less intense.
