“At least 49 people have been killed, scores more injured and almost 700 others rescued from the sea after a devastating wildfire swept through a small resort town near Athens, the Greek fire department has said.
“Huge flames trapped families with children as they tried to flee from Mati, 18 miles (29km) east of the Greek capital, where the blaze hit on Monday afternoon. It was by far the country’s worst fire since blazes raged across the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens.
““Mati doesn’t even exist as a settlement anymore,” one woman told Skai TV. “I saw corpses, burned-out cars. I feel lucky to be alive.”
“Areas around Athens were like a tinderbox, emergency workers said, after a dry winter and a summer heatwave in which temperatures have risen above 40C (104F).”
“Late-spring and the first stretch of the summer have been exceptionally warm and dry in some areas of northern Europe. The weather across the northern part of the continent from Scandinavia to Russia, has been ruled, off and on, by a very a persistent high pressure ridge that has no intention of leaving this week.”
“Extreme heat has made the job difficult for Latvian firefighters, as hundreds of hectares have been scorched in the west of the country.”
https://therealnews.com/forest-fires-devastate-western-latvia
“Swedish authorities said the risk of fires spreading across the country will hit “extreme” levels this week as emergency services battle dozens of blazes that have already destroyed more than $100 million worth of forested land.”
“The heatwave is raising sea temperatures in parts of England to higher than some of those in California, according to statistics.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-44923091
“The weekend deluge was only the beginning. Flood watches and warnings have been posted from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. At least 10 million people are under flood watches or warnings.”
“Sunday was the hottest date on record in the month of July — any July. Ever [in Shreveport]. High temperatures Sunday reached a scorching 108 at 4:03 p.m. — topping a previous record of 107 degrees set July 16, 1875, and most recently matched on July 31, 1998, according to data provided by the National Weather Service.”
“The official Central Texas temperature soared to 114 degrees at around 5 p.m. Monday at Waco Regional Airport, topping the previous all-time high temperature of 112 degrees set on Aug. 11, 1969.”
“World-famous Death Valley, California, home to the hottest temperature ever reliably recorded, is flirting with its all-time hottest temperature on record, and there’s an outside chance the national park could see its hottest average monthly temperature on record.”
http://www.weathernationtv.com/news/hottest-place-america-record-hottest-month-record/
“National Weather Service meteorologist Erin Billings says several [Alaskan] temperature records were broken or matched on Sunday.”
“An “unprecedented” heatwave in Japan has killed at least 65 people in one week, government officials said Tuesday, with the weather agency now classifying the record-breaking weather as a “natural disaster”.”
“Hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number dead after a dam under construction collapsed in south-east Laos, state media reported… The incident follows heavy rain and flooding across southern Laos.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44935495
“An unprecedented rain [in Odisha, India]… has claimed six lives…”
“Fish are losing their sense of smell as rising carbon emissions turn the water they live in to acid.”
