Rome: In the most recent illustration of the threat posed by global warming, tens of millions of people were battling dangerously high temperatures in the United States on Saturday as record heat forecasts hung over Europe and Japan.
As the US National Weather Service issued a warning of a "extremely hot and dangerous weekend," a powerful heatwave that stretched from California to Texas was anticipated to peak.
In the west, daytime highs were predicted to be between 10 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit above average. Residents of Arizona, one of the worst-affected states, endure a daily endurance race against the sun.
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Phoenix, the state capital, experienced 16 consecutive days with a high of 109°F (43°C), with a high of 111°F on Saturday and a predicted high of 115°F.
One of the hottest places on Earth, Death Valley in California, is expected to reach new highs on Sunday, with temperatures possibly reaching 130F (54C).
On Saturday, it was already 48C by noon, and overnight lows could get as high as 38C.
Authorities have issued warnings, telling people to stay indoors during the day and to watch out for dehydration.
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A 28-year-old worker who only gave his name as Juan helped finish a wall at a construction site outside of Houston, Texas, in the sweltering heat.
In response to the heat, he said, "Just when I take a drink of water, I get dizzy and want to vomit."
According to the Las Vegas weather service, adopting the attitude that high temperatures are just a part of the region's desert climate is "a DANGEROUS mindset! This heat wave is not the usual heat of the desert.
Numerous wildfires are being fought in Southern California, including one in Riverside County that has scorched more than 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) and forced residents to evacuate.
More damage is anticipated as the summer wears on, according to the Canadian government, which reported that wildfires had burned a record-breaking 10 million hectares further north this year.
Italy is expected to experience record-breaking temperatures this weekend, and the health ministry has issued a red alert for 16 cities, including Rome, Bologna, and Florence.
Italians should be prepared for "the most intense heatwave of the summer and one of the most intense ever," the weather center advised.
By Monday, Rome's temperature is predicted to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), and it could even reach 43C on Tuesday, shattering the previous high of 40.5C from August 2007.
The European Space Agency warned that the islands of Sicily and Sardinia could wilt in temperatures as high as 48C, which would be "potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe."
One of Greece's top tourist destinations, the Acropolis in Athens, will shut down on Sunday during the hottest part of the day for the third straight day.
Climate scientists criticized France's Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau on Saturday for dismissing the conditions as "normal enough for summer" in light of the threat that high temperatures and the ensuing drought are posing to the country's agricultural sector.
According to the national weather service, this June was the second-hottest on record in France, and several regions have been on heatwave alert since Tuesday.
There is little relief in sight for Spain, as the country's meteorological agency issued a warning on Saturday, predicting that the Canary Islands and southern Andalusia will experience temperatures above 40°C from Monday through Wednesday as part of a new heatwave.
On Sunday and Monday, portions of eastern Japan are predicted to reach 38 to 39 degrees Celsius, with the meteorological agency issuing a record-breaking temperature warning.
After sweltering heat, relentless monsoon rains are said to have killed at least 90 people in northern India. New Delhi's capital Yamuna river has risen to a record level, endangering low-lying neighborhoods in the megacity of more than 20 million people.
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During India's monsoon season, severe flooding and landslides are not uncommon, but experts claim that climate change is increasing both their frequency and severity.
The meteorological service predicted that Morocco would experience above-average temperatures this weekend, with highs of 47C in some provinces — more typical of August than July — raising worries about water shortages.
Water-scarce According to the army, a wildfire that started in the north's Ajloun forest during a heatwave required Jordan to dump 214 tons of water on it.
Wissam Abed typically cools off from Baghdad's brutal summer by swimming in the Tigris river in Iraq, where hot summers are typical.
However, as rivers disappear, so does the popular past time.
Abed stood in the middle of the river, but the water only comes up to his waist, as it was close to 50 degrees Celsius outside and the wind was whipping through the city like a hairdryer.
The 37-year-old told AFP that "the water situation gets worse every year." While it can be challenging to link a specific weather event to climate change, experts maintain that the proliferation and intensification of heatwaves are caused by global warming, which is associated with our reliance on fossil fuels.
The world experienced its hottest June on record last month, according to the EU's climate monitoring service.
