Climate change: Spain breaks record temperature ...

warning that large swathes of the country would be at risk. Spain saw the most land burned of any country in Europe in 2022.

Climate change is very likely playing a role in this heatwave, according to experts in the field.

“We know that 2022 was the second warmest year on record for Europe, and it was the warmest summer on record,” Dr Samantha Burgess from the Copernicus climate change service told BBC News.

“Europe is warming at twice the global rate and we know because there is a higher rate of warming, there’s a higher probability of extreme events. And those extreme events include heat waves.”

As well as the impact on young and old, another concern is agriculture.

Many farmers are experiencing difficulties due to the ongoing lack of rain, with the government in Madrid asking the European Union for financial help.

Some landowners say they won’t plant crops due to the dry conditions, which could have implications for food supplies across Europe.

This heatwave in Spain is not an isolated event - all across the world high temperatures in the first few months of this year have shattered records.

Eight countries in central and eastern Europe set new all time highs for the warmest January weather on the very first day of this year.

Countries across Asia have seen extreme heat in recent weeks. In northwest Thailand, the temperature hit 45.4C on 15

April, while in Laos it reached 42.7C.

In Bangladesh, the capital Dhaka saw the mercury rise above 40C, believed to be the hottest day in 58 years.

Another factor likely to influence weather across the world over the coming months is the likely onset of an El Niño event.

This will see more heat emerge in the Pacific ocean off the coast of Peru. If it happens, then 2024 might emerge as the world’s warmest year on record, with more storms, fires and floods.

“It seems we are living in a world of a new normal here,” said Dr Fahad Saeed, from research organisation, Climate Analytics.

“These people in regions like Asia are the people who have been adapting to these kinds of extreme temperatures for thousands of years, but its is now getting beyond their ability to adapt.”

“That’s why we are witnessing rising death rates due to heat each year in this part of the world.” (BBC)