EARTH: Scientists say last summer was the hottest summer on record in Europe, with temperatures a full 1°C higher than the average.

The EU’s Copernicus climate change service said yesterday that while spring 2021 was cooler than average, the summer months were marked by “severe and long-lasting heatwaves."

The high temperatures contributed to wildfires such as those seen in Siberia, Greece and Turkey last year, and experts warn that heavy rainfall of the kind that led to extreme flooding in Belgium and Germany last July is more likely.