Regions Across the World Swelter Under Record Temperatures

The world is really hot right now. It's so hot that it's breaking temperature records all over. That includes the US, Europe, and Japan. 

One in three Americans face high heat advisories and warnings. That's about 110 million people. Most of them are in the West and Southwest. In Italy, officials have issued red-alert warnings in 16 cities. They are telling citizens to expect the most intense heat wave ever. 

Temperatures all around the world are reaching very high numbers. Many are over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. For example, in Phoenix, it's been 110 degrees or more for the last two weeks.  

Forecasters in Europe say that it's going to be hotter than ever before in many places. This includes Sicily and Sardinia in Italy. There, temperatures are expected to go up to 118 degrees this week. That's according to the European Space Agency (ESA). If that happens, it could become the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe, ESA warned. 

Extreme heat is also causing fears of water shortages in some areas, including Jordan. That's where firefighters had to use 214 tons of water to put out a big fire in the Ajloun forest. In Japan, officials issued heat stroke alerts to tens of millions of people. In some areas, temperatures went up to nearly 104 degrees over the weekend.

Experts haven’t linked the high heat directly to climate change. But they do say it's clear that climate change is having an effect.  

Richard Allan is a climate science professor. He told Al Jazeera that the weather is more severe than usual due to the greenhouse gases that humans have put in the air.

Photo from Reuters. 

Reflect: What’s your favorite indoor activity to do when the weather is bad?