Worldwide heat waves

• Record high temperatures hit Japan in mid- to late-July, leading to the deaths of at least 65 people and causing tens of thousands to be hospitalized for heatstroke. In the town of Kumagaya, near Tokyo, temperatures reached more than 106°F, the highest temperature ever recorded in Japan.

Of the 200 locations Japanese meteorologists classified as "intensely hot" (95° or above), many were in the same areas that experienced deadly flooding the week before.

• A heat wave struck eastern Canada at the beginning of July, causing the deaths of at least 33 people in the province on Québec, including 15 in Montréal alone. Temperatures rose to above 95°F, with high humidity. Temperatures fell back to normal on July 6. The average high in Montréal in July is 77°.

• A heat wave in Europe in late July and early August brought temperatures close to an all-time record for Europe. Both Portugal and Spain saw temperatures rise over 110°F, causing at least three deaths in Spain and exacerbating forest fires in southern Portugal.