Southern Europe could see record-breaking temperatures in the next few days as a heatwave sweeps across much of the continent.
Italy, Spain, France, Croatia and Turkey have all been affected by scorching temperatures. The Italian Meteorological Society has named the heatwave “Cerberus” after the three-headed dog that guarded the underworld in Greek mythology.
The beginning of July marked the planet’s hottest week in recorded history. Last month was the warmest-ever June, and a study this week found that more than 60,000 Europeans died due to heat last summer.
Cooling off at the Ada Ciganlija lake in Belgrade, Serbia | Andrej Cukic/EFE via EPA
People cool off in a fountain during a hot summer day in Piazza di Spagna in Rome | Fabio Frustaci/EPA-EFE
A man cools off in a fountain in Rome | Fabio Frustaci/EPA-EFE
People cool off in a fountain at the Pantheon in Rome | Fabio Frustaci/EPA-EFE
A young man rides his bike in Bastille Square in Paris | Yoan Valat/EPA-EFE
Tourists protect themselves from the sun outside the Royal Palace in Madrid | Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images
People wait for a bus at a stop with a thermometer showing 41 degrees Celsius in Madrid | Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images
A motorcyclist rides past a street sign showing 52 degrees Celsius in Seville | Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images
Children cool off under water jets in a fountain in Montpellier | Sylvain Thomas/AFP via Getty Images
People cool off in a fountain in Seville | Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images
A man cools off during a heatwave in Seville | Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images
A child cools off under water jets in a fountain in Montpellier | Sylvain Thomas/AFP via Getty Images
A man sprays sunscreen at Monastiraki Square in Athens | Spyros Bakalis/AFP via Getty Images
Children cool off in fountains in Strasbourg, France | Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images
A child plays in water fountains in Strasbourg, France | Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images
A dog drinks from a fountain in Rome | Luciano Del Castillo/EFE via EPA
A meerkat lays out in the sun at its enclosure at the Schoenbrunn zoo, Austria | Estella Berger/AFP via Getty Images
A man jogs in the Retiro Park in Madrid | Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images
Hellenic Red Cross workers distribute bottles of water to visitors outside the Acropolis in Athens, Greece | Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images
A man cools himself with a bottle of water as he waits in the queue to enter the Acropolis in Athens, Greece | Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images
Members of the public lie in the shade of trees at Syntagma Square in Athens | Spyros Bakalis/AFP via Getty Images
A pharmacy sign indicates 34.5 degrees Celsius with Mont-Blanc in the background, in Chamonix | Olivier Chassignole/AFP via Getty Images
For the third month running, around two-thirds of France’s water supplies remain below seasonal normals, fuelling drought fears | Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images
A man walks past mist being sprayed from a shop in Athens, Greece | Spyros Bakalis/AFP via Getty Images
An elderly man holds a piece of paper over his head to protect himself from the sun in Athens, Greece | Spyros Bakalis/AFP via Getty Images
