At least 101 million Europeans faced temperatures exceeding 35°C on Thursday, with more than 380 million experiencing above 30°C, according to reports from France 24 and The Local (Sweden). Most of mainland France was placed under extreme heat alerts, and a three-year-old child was briefly trapped in a vehicle. UN climate chief Simon Stiell attributed the event to fossil fuel pollution, while EU Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess described the cause as a natural heat dome originating from North Africa.