Europe, which is in the throes of a record-smashing heatwave this week, is the world’s fastest-warming continent and stretches into an even more rapidly heating Arctic.
After record high temperatures for May were broken in Britain, Ireland and France on Monday and Tuesday, the continent still faces more brutal heat in the coming days.
A so-called “heat dome” of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the sort of heat not usually seen until high summer.
Here is a look at why Europe is warming faster than elsewhere:
A higher degree
The planet is around 1.4C warmer than in preindustrial times, defined as 1850-1900.
By comparison, Europe is around 2.4 hotter than the preindustrial era, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
“Almost all of this heat is driven by the human-induced greenhouse effect from fossil fuel emissions, with the actual distribution of this excess heat determined by (several)…
