A deadly heatwave is gripping the Northern Hemisphere, and forecasters warn that relief is likely weeks away. Record temperatures stretched from Japan to Norway and further west to Texas. In the Arctic, the mercury topped 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), while down in Algeria, Ouargla recorded 51.3 Celsius (124.3 degrees Fahrenheit), likely a record on the African continent. The culprit is a weather system that weakens the jet streams churning through the upper atmosphere.
Globally at least 170 people have died in fires, floods and heat. Greek officials say that at least 74 people were killed in wildfires in the country’s Attica region, which includes Athens. Blazes also ripped through northern Sweden and Russia’s Siberia, wiping out tens of thousands of acres of forests. Record temperatures in Quebec, Canada, contributed to dozens of deaths, while in Japan dozens more were recorded and the weather was declared a national emergency.
