(CNN) --
A record heat wave and temperatures will top the century mark for 60 million people in the United States next week, while a similar heat wave is bringing record temperatures to Western Europe and Asia.
More than 100 million people in the US face excessive heat watches or warnings
Forest fires devastate France and Spain;
the UK faces its hottest day
Heat wave in Europe: there is concern about pollution levels
One-third of the United States population is under heat advisories and excessive heat warnings and more than 80% of the nation's population (about 265 million Americans) will experience a maximum temperature of more than 32 degrees Celsius during the next seven days.
People play on artist Jeppe Hein's water-based sculpture titled "Changing Spaces" at Rockefeller Center Plaza in New York City on July 19, 2022, as the heat wave continues in Europe and North America.
(Credit: YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)
Above-normal and dangerous temperatures are expected to continue across much of the country through at least the weekend.
Heat warnings are in effect this Wednesday for New York, Philadelphia and Boston, where highs will be in the 90s and the heat index will hover around 100 degrees.
People seek shelter in a New York park on July 19, 2022 as temperatures soar on the West Coast above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. (Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Record hot temperatures are outpacing THE cold records by more than 10 to 1 so far in 2022.
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Climate scientists told CNN that this worrying trend has become more noticeable in recent years and is what they would expect from climate change.
(Credit: YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)
heat wave in Europe
Extreme heat has gripped parts of western Europe, with wildfires burning in France and Spain, a worsening drought in Portugal and the third hottest day on record in the UK on Monday.
A house burns as forest fires continue at the foot of Mount Penteli, the hillside suburbs north of Athens, forcing people to evacuate their homes on July 20, 2022. (Credit: TATIANA MPOLARI/Eurokinissi/AFP via Getty Images)
Belgium
The Royal Belgian Meteorological Institute (KMI/IRM) issued a "code red" weather warning for heat in two provinces on Tuesday, forecasting temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius in the west and southwest.
Burnt cars at the scene of fires in the dunes on the Belgian coast in De Haan, caused by the heat wave on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (Credit: Shutterstock)
Spain
In Spain, forest fires swept through the central region of Castilla y León, as well as the northern region of Galicia on Sunday, Reuters reported.
The fire also forced the state railway company to suspend service between Madrid and Galicia.
Flames rise from a forest fire near the town of Pumarejo, in northern Spain, on July 18, 2022. Emergency services battled several forest fires as Spain continued to be gripped by an exceptional heat wave that has seen temperatures reaching 43 degrees centigrade. (Credit: MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP)
More than 70,000 hectares have been destroyed in Spain by fires this year, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Monday.
“Seventy thousand hectares, to give you an idea, is almost double the average of the last decade,” he said.
Fire in Pumarejo, near Zamora, in northwestern Spain. (Credit: MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images)
The country's Carlos III Health Institute on Monday estimated a cumulative total of more than 510 deaths related to the heat wave in the country, based on the statistical calculation of excess deaths.
Villagers look at burned houses after a forest fire in A Veiga de Cascalla, near O Barco de Valdeorras, in northern Spain on July 19, 2022. (Credit: MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images)
France
The fire has spread across 10,926.8 hectares in the Gironde department in southwestern France, forcing the evacuation of 32,000 people, the local prefecture said on Monday night.
Damage to the "Les Flots Bleus" campsite on Tuesday, July 19, which has been devastated by a forest fire in Pyla sur Mer in Gironde, located in the south-west of France. (Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)
The nearby town of Cazaux registered 42.4 degrees Celsius on Monday, the hottest it has seen since its weather station opened more than 100 years ago in 1921, according to the French national weather service Météo France.
44 degrees Celsius in Nantes, on July 18, 2022. (Credit: LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)
In Finistère, on the country's Atlantic coast, the first fires were reported on Monday afternoon;
less than eight hours later, the flames had decimated more than 283.3 hectares of land, prompting the evacuation of several villages.
A firefighter takes position at a forest fire near Louchats, about 35 km from Landiras in Gironde, southwestern France on July 18, 2022. (Credit: PHILIPPE LOPEZ/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Greece
A large forest fire has broken out on the slopes of Mount Penteli in Greece, near residential areas on the northern outskirts of Athens.
(Credit: TATIANA BOLARI/Eurokinissi/AFP via Getty Images)
The fire that started after 5 p.m. local time, burning low vegetation spread rapidly and is still not under control and has prompted authorities to order residents of at least four residential areas to evacuate for safety reasons.
Portugal
Hundreds have also died in Portugal, where sweltering temperatures are exacerbating a severe drought.
In total, more than 1,100 people are believed to have died due to the ongoing heat wave in southern Europe.
The heat wave in Portugal has intensified a pre-existing drought and caused forest fires in the center of the country, including the town of Memoria, in the municipality of Leiria. (Credit: PAULO CUNHA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
United Kingdom
In the UK, where temperatures on Monday hit 38.1 degrees in Santon Downham in eastern England, making it the third-hottest day on record, authorities warned things were likely to get worse.
A train passenger sits with a bottle of water while reading a book on the forecourt of Euston railway station in central London, on July 19, 2022, when services were canceled due to a fire on the track. and as the country experiences an extreme heat wave.
(Credit: NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP via Getty Images)
Heat wave prompts drought warnings
In this aerial view, a fire engine is seen in a field as smoke rises from the trees on July 19, 2022 in Blidworth, England. A series of bushfires have broken out in England as the UK heatwave reached record temperatures of 40.3°C. (Credit: Cameron Smith/Getty Images)
Almost half of Europe's territory, including the United Kingdom, is "at risk" of drought, researchers from the European Union Commission said on Monday.
A burned forest after a fire on July 19, 2022 in Blidworth, England. A series of bushfires have broken out in England as the UK heatwave reached record temperatures of 40.3°C. (Credit: Cameron Smith/Getty Images)
The water supply may be "compromised" in the coming months, according to the report.
China
In China, a heat wave has half the country on alert, affecting more than 900 million people, or about 64% of the population.
All but two of China's northeast provinces have issued high-temperature warnings, with 84 cities issuing their highest-level red alerts last Wednesday.
Residents spend their time in a bomb shelter to escape the summer heat amid a heat wave warning in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on July 12.
