UK to experience temperatures 'hotter than 99% of Earth' as wildfires scorch south Europe

As massive wildfires continue to scorch parts of southern Europe, experts on Monday predicted that the United Kingdom is set to experience temperatures "hotter than 99% of the Earth." While an amber warning is already in place, New Zealand-based meteorologist Ben Noll on Monday said that the only countries warmer than the UK would be California, the Sahara Desert, the Middle East, and India as the mercury is predicted to hit 42°C in this week in England.

Taking to Twitter, Noll put the UK heatwave into "global perspective", saying "the hottest UK temperatures on Tuesday are expected to be about 30˚C warmer than the global average maximum temperature. In other words, it's very anomalous on a global scale."

According to the BBC report, citing Met Office, temperatures in London is expected to cross Dakhla in Western Sahara, Nassau in the Bahamas, Madrid, and Athens prompting authorities to issue a "level 4 or red alert." At least 4 people have been reported dead in England by drowning as they attempted to dive into water bodies to escape the burning heat spread across central, northern, and southeast England. Temperatures touched 37.1°C in parts of Wales, and over 31°C in Scotland and Northern Ireland, making it the third-hottest day on record and the hottest this year.

'Heat apocalypse...'

Amid the ferocious heatwave, wildfires in France and Spain have left people scorching in sweltering temperatures on Tuesday. Spain on Monday recorded 43°C on Monday as firefighters struggled to contain wildfires. Experts have warned of a potential "heat apocalypse" in the UK and parts of France as the heatwave heads North of Europe. Parts of France on Monday recorded 42°C, the Met Office said. Other European countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany on Monday also experienced temperatures between 33°C to 39°C, with a forecast for 40°C in the coming days.

The wildfires have burnt down nearly 17,000 hectares of land and forced over 30,000 people to flee since last Tuesday. Emergency state shelters have been set up for the evacuees. In Spain and Portugal, swaths of land turned to charred land with the death toll on Monday topping the 1,000 mark. Experts have linked the rise in temperature to climate change with the global average temperature rising by 1°C. While it doesn't seem much to common eyes, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says the world is experiencing the hottest period in 125,000 years.

(Image: AP)