Western Europe is currently transforming into a literal swamp, prompting the Met Office to extend its red heat-health alert until Friday at 11pm. While corporate HR departments and government bureaucrats scramble to draft the latest "stay hydrated" emails, scientists at the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium are sounding the alarm. They claim this historic heatwave is entirely the fault of the global climate crisis and our collective "addiction" to burning fossil fuels.

On Thursday, Somerset in the UK clocked in at a sweltering 36.4C (97.5F), breaking the record for the hottest June temperature in British history. Meanwhile, the rest of Europe is experiencing a massive spike in medical emergencies, proving that the continent's historic lack of air conditioning was perhaps a poor structural choice. At least 100 million people were projected to bake in temperatures over 35C on Thursday, with several heat-related deaths already reported.

The main takeaway from the scientific establishment is that our atmosphere is officially cooked. According to the WWA's latest models, the global climate has warmed by 1.1C over the last 50 years. This means that if you try to compare this current heatwave to the legendary summer of 1976—which boomers love to bring up every time it gets slightly warm—this week's event is actually 3.5C hotter. Even compared to 2003, we are looking at conditions that are 2C warmer.

It turns out the heat is only half the battle. The scientists used a metric called "wet bulb globe temperature" to calculate what they call "heat stress," which is just a fancy way of saying "humidity-induced suffering." Nearly half of Europe's largest cities—about 45% of municipalities with over 50,000 residents—are experiencing their worst-ever heat stress. When the air is this muggy, your sweat literally stops evaporating, leaving you soaking wet and entirely unable to cool down.

If you've been tossing and turning in bed lately, you aren't alone. The WWA study points out that the sweltering nighttime temperatures currently destroying everyone's sleep schedule are about 100 times more likely to happen today than they were back in 2003. Trying to get some rest in a classic European brick apartment with zero airflow has officially become a high-stakes survival challenge.

Predictably, the continent's infrastructure is folding like a cheap lawn chair. Schools are shutting down, hospitals are completely overwhelmed with heat casualties, and train and flight schedules have been completely wrecked. It turns out modern public transport systems aren't particularly fond of extreme heat, leading to widespread travel chaos across western Europe.