'Hotter and hotter and hotter' - Europe's new climate in seven charts

'Hotter and hotter and hotter' - Europe's new climate in seven chartsImage source, Tino Romano / EPAImage caption, Outdoor workers can be particularly vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat, such as that seen in the UK and Europe last monthByMark Poynting, Climate reporter, Becky Dale, Senior data journalist, BBC Verify, Erwan Rivault, Senior data designer and Jess Carr, Data designerPublished2 minutes agoWe might only be a few days into July, but two record-breaking summer heatwaves have already provided the UK and Europe with a snapshot of their new climate.Hot on the heels of May's heat, June saw temperature records not only broken but smashed in what the UN's weather agency called an "extraordinary" event across the continent.And after a brief period of respite, another heatwave is on the way.If this feels unusual, that is because it is. But it is also exactly what scientists predicted in our warmer world, driven primarily by the burning of fossil fuels releasing heat-trapping greenhouse gases into our atmosphere."Human-induced climate change has made events like this more likely and more intense," said Prof Stephen Belcher, chief scientist at the UK Met Office.The intensity of these heatwaves is evident from how far temperatures were above normal in May and June averaged across the UK, marked here in red.While the June heat was strongest in southern England and south Wales, few areas escaped the warmth.Temperatures peaked at 37.7C in Lingwood, Norfolk, according to provisional figures. It was one of several stations to surpass the UK's previous June high of 35.6C, set in 1957 and tied in 1976."To see temperatures like this in the UK in June is sobering," said Belcher.Not every weather station has data as far back as the famous summer of 1976, but even some of the longest-running stations saw their previous records broken by 2C or more."We normally expect the records broken by small amounts – te...