Slovakia and Austria record hottest days on record during an exceptionally hot and arid summer in Central Europe.
Slovakia and Austria both recorded their hottest days on record on Wednesday as temperatures in Central Europe soared to extreme levels. In southern Slovakia, the town of Kamenica nad Hronom reached a new record high of 41.4 C (106.5 F), surpassing previous records set in June. The Slovak Meteorological Institute reported that the town of Skalica also saw the other hottest night on record. In Austria, the town of Bad Deutsch-Altenburg measured an all-time high of 41.2 C (106.1 F), breaking the previous day's record. The Czech Republic and Hungary also recorded all-time highs earlier this summer. These extreme temperatures are part of a broader trend where Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s. The heat wave has created tinderbox conditions, leading to unprecedented fires and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes and vacation spots.