The heat waves, which started unusually late in the year, broke hundreds of weather records in countries from France and Spain to the US, Japan and Bolivia. There have been nights with lows of 29-30C in France and temperatures of 45C in South America where it is winter.

It was 44C in France on Wednesday. country where maximum temperatures reached 30C at 2700m and 14C at 3500m. In Toulouse it was 42C and in Sorez the overnight low was one of the highest ever recorded in the Hexagon: +30.6C.

It was 44C in Bilbao, Spain, while the weather station in Barcelona recorded the highest overnight low of 29C.

In Portugal, Pinhao had +45.6 C, breaking the record set in 1943.

Record temperatures have been recorded in the Southern Hemisphere in recent weeks, making it one of the warmest winters in South America. In Villamontes (Bolivia) it was 45 C, and in Nueva Asuncion, Paraguay, it was +41.9 C. It was almost 42 C in Cuiaba, in Brazil.

Temperatures also approached 40 degrees in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and Botswana.

Japan was another country hit hard by the heat this summer, with several cities recording a record number of days with a maximum temperature above 35 C. The latest absolute temperature record was recorded in the city of Sapporo (+36.3 C).

New records were also set in the USA: in Houston it was +42.8°C, in New Orleans +39°C.

And in Romania, the weather was warmer than usual, and the heat will continue. There were highs of 38-39C and nights with many lows above 22C.