IN PHOTOS | 'Markers of climate change': Europe wilts under unusually early heat wave in June

A blanket of hot air stretching from the Mediterranean to the North Sea is bringing much of Western Europe its first heat wave of the summer, with temperatures forecast on June 17 to top 30 degrees Celsius from London to Paris. Meteorologists say the unusually early heat wave is a sign of what's to come as global warming continues, moving up in the calendar the extreme temperatures that Europe would previously have seen only in July and August.

A blanket of hot air stretching from the Mediterranean to the North Sea is giving much of western Europe its first heat wave of the summer, with temperatures forecast to top 30 degrees Celsius. Meteorologists say the unusually early heat wave is a sign of what's to come as global warming continues, moving up in the calendar the extreme temperatures that Europe would previously have seen only in July and August. A man runs up a hill on a small road in Frankfurt, Germany, as the sun rises on June 17, 2022. (Photo | AP) 

A woman cools off at the fountain of the Trocadero garden next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Hot weather is expected to last for several days across the country. (Photo | AP)

A woman on a bicycle cools off in Bayonne, southwestern France, where the temperature rose to 38 degrees Celsius. (Photo | AP)

People are reflected in the mirrored ceiling of the Vieux Port Pavillion as they walk by an icecream kiosk during a heat wave in Marseille, southern France. (Photo | AP)

A waitress takes a break during a heat wave in Marseille, southern France. In France, some 18 million people woke to heat wave alerts affecting about a third of the country on June 17. Forest fire warnings were issued from the Pyrenees in the south to the Paris region. (Photo | AP)

A street performer wearing a clown costume buys a bottle of water from an ice cream van on Westminster Bridge in hot weather in London. Britain's Met Office said global warming has increased the average temperature of U.K. summers — and the likelihood of more extreme temperatures during hot spells and heat waves.(Photo | AP)

People relax on Bournemouth beach as, according to the Met Office, 34C (93.2F) are expected in London and potentially some spots in East Anglia, England. (Photo | AP)

People cool off at the fountain of the Trocadero garden next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (Photo | AP)

A man drinks from a large bottle of orange in downtown Madrid, Spain, on June 12. Spain's weather service says a mass of hot air from north Africa is triggering the country's first major heat wave of the year. Almost all of Spain was affected, with nine of the country's 17 regions on orange alert, the second-highest level possible, Spain's meteorological agency AEMET said. (Photo | AP)

Spain also grappled with a heatwave at the end of May, with temperatures up to 15C above the seasonal average. Last month was Spain's hottest May since the beginning of the century. (Photo | AP)

A man sunbathes during a heat wave in Marseille, southern France. On June 17, schoolchildren were allowed to skip classes in the 12 western and southwestern French regions that were under the highest alert. (Photo | AP)