Human-induced climate change has played an “absolutely overwhelming” role in extreme heatwaves across North America, Europe and China this month, Reuters reports, citing a new scientific report (pdf) published by the World Weather Attribution. Without human-induced climate change, the events this month would have been “extremely rare,” the study concluded. “European and North American temperatures would have been virtually impossible without the effects of climate change,” one of the study’s authors and researchers at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute Izidine Pinto told journalists, adding that for China “it was around 50 times more likely to happen compared to the past.”

How much heat are we talking? The World Weather Attribution team estimated that rising greenhouse gas concentrations made the European heatwave 2.5°C hotter than it would have been otherwise. Increased global emissions also drove up North America’s heatwave by 2°C and China’s by 1°C. While the start of the El Niño phenomenon likely contributed to the increased extreme temperatures, rising greenhouse gasses were the major factor driving the scorching weather.

Our region is not spared: Heatwaves in North Africa have sparked a series of wildfires across Algeria that have left 34 dead, Reuters reports. Some 8k firefighters were called on to battle the raging flames and bring them under control in Boumerdes, Bouira, Tizi Ouzou, Jijel, Bejaia and Skikda regions. So far 1.5k people have been evacuated from their homes.

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