LONDON

Extreme heat of up to 44C (111F) in some places and severe storms are sweeping across Europe, triggering floods and raising fire alerts.

A powerful low-pressure system has moved into central Europe, prompting red alerts in Denmark and thunderstorm warnings along Germany and Poland’s Baltic coast.

The median fire weather index anomaly map by the European Forest Fire Information System showed two distinct clusters of extreme and very extreme conditions.

"One cluster covers most of Norway, Sweden, and Finland,” it said.

The second stretches across southeastern Europe, including southern Italy, the Balkans, Greece, the island of Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, and Türkiye.

"In contrast, western and central Europe are expected to experience low fire weather index anomalies, whereas the Iberian Peninsula will be dominated by high to very high anomalies," it noted.

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, ranging from violent storms to wildfires, on the world’s fastest-warming continent.

In southeastern Europe, heat continues to intensify.

Greece and Italy are forecast to reach 43C–44C (109F–111F) before the weekend. Outdoor work is now banned during peak heat hours, and much of the mainland is on high fire alert.

Meteorologists also warned that the unusually hot Mediterranean could fuel even more powerful storms.

According to the World Health Organization, climate change is driving more deadly heatwaves, floods and wildfires.

In 2022, extreme heat caused over 60,000 deaths in Europe — a number that could double by 2050 without action.

The WHO said the health impacts of extreme weather are largely preventable with strong public health measures.