A large forest fire has broken out above Bitsch in Valais, Switzerland - a region famous for alpine resorts and the Matterhorn.

This video from earlier shows helicopters try to douse the flames.

There are about 150 firefighters and 25 police at the scene, but the fire is still burning out of control and spreading rapidly.

A recent update, external from local police said hamlets in the area have been evacuated.

Image source, Canton Police of Valais

In California's Death Valley, tourists gathered to experience the intense heat.

They took pictures in front of a digital display showing the rising temperature at the aptly named Furnace Creek, where it officially hit 53.9C (128F) on Sunday.

Death Valley is the location of the hottest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth. It reached 56.7C (134F) there back in 1913.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Pets and wildlife are at risk in these heatwaves, just like humans.

If you have a pet, make sure they have access to clean water and somewhere shady where they can escape the sun.

We've got more tips here on how to keep animals cool in hot weather.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Georgina Rannard
Climate and science reporter

Leading UK scientist Dr Frederieke Otto, from Imperial College London, told the BBC that "what we are seeing at the moment is exactly what we expect in a world where we are still burning fossil fuels".

Humans are "100% behind" the upward trend in global temperatures, she explains.

The world has already warmed by 1.1C since the Industrial Revolution when humans started burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Dr Otto says we have no idea what the new normal will look like because "we are not in a stable climate".

We will only find out what the new climate looks like once the world stops burning fossil fuels and switches to green energy, she suggests.

You can read more about how heatwaves are becoming the new normal by clicking here.

While large parts of Europe sweat through a very warm night, the heat has ramped up in some southern states of the US.

We've been keeping an eye on how many people in the US are under various extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings.

And that number recently ticked past 104 million.

This makes it seven consecutive days where more than 100 million people have been under some form of heat alert in the US.

The National Weather Service says the heatwave will likely continue in the southwest of the US until 28 July.

Image source, EPA

More now on the wildfires in Greece, where temperatures have reached 40C (104F) and above in some areas.

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is currently in Brussels for a summit, says authorities are doing everything possible to help.

"Today was the first essentially difficult day of this summer," he says.

"No doubt more will follow. Wildfires have occurred and will continue to occur. This is also one of the effects of the climate crisis that we are experiencing with increasing intensity."

He adds: "The challenge is how we can contain them as quickly as possible so that the damage we suffer is as limited as possible."

Image source, Reuters

While large swathes of the US deals with searing heat, poor air quality stretches across the country due to the wildfires in Canada.

A map of North America, shared by AirNow.gov, external, shows concentrations of PM2.5, the main pollutant in wildfire smoke.

Yellow depicts moderate amounts, orange as unhealthy for sensitive groups, and red as unhealthy.

In the city of Pittsburgh, the air quality index is currently at 160, which is deemed as "unhealthy".

Pittsburgh is located in the northeast of the country, where you can see the clumps of red in the map above.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

As Phoenix, Arizona continues to grapple with a series of scorching days, advocates have been left scrambling for solutions to keep the city's unhoused population safe in the heat.

About 1,100 people sleep rough on Phoenix's streets at any given time.

In recent days, homeless advocates have described having seen emergency responders increasingly called to treat unhoused patients for potential heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Dr Nasser Hajaig, the medical director of Circle the City - an organisation with two 'respite centres' and outreach teams in the city - said many unhoused in Phoenix "don't have someplace cool to go, and they don't have direct access to water".

"It's difficult, because sometimes once we leave they're still on the streets," he told the BBC on Friday. "It's a brutal summer. It's just awful".

The attitude of Phoenix's population towards the unhoused during the heat wave, he added, has been mixed.

"I've seen businesses be very good, give people water, bring them in and help them out," he said. "But I've also seen the opposite side of humanity... some businesses make them leave unless they're shopping or buying something."

Justin Rowlatt
BBC Climate editor, reporting from Murcia, Spain

It’s been a long and very hot day here in southern Spain.

I’ll be honest, we’ve retreated to our hotel room and – yes – the air conditioning, to finish our work.

But it has been fascinating to have the chance to talk to people here.

Lots of them say they believe global warming is reshaping the climate in the region in a dramatic way.

They say it is becoming more and more like North Africa.

The Sahara Desert is slowly creeping into Europe, was how one man described what he believes is happening.

And the changes are raising fundamental questions about the future.

Questions like how viable will agriculture be in the future, and will tourists still want to come here in summer?

Because, of course, climate change means southern Spain – like the rest of the world – is only going to get hotter.

Georgina Rannard
Climate and science reporter

Heatwaves like these are often called "silent killers" and lead to thousands of people dying.

But we remain woefully unprepared, despite scientists saying that climate change is bringing more extreme heat, explains Julie Arrighi, interim director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre.

"If we are not ready for the heat of today, then we are not ready for heat of tomorrow," she says.

Some places have made progress, she says. In Paris in France, politicians want everyone to live seven minutes' walk away from green spaces so they can cool off.

And in Spain and Australia, the Red Cross set up telephone hotline systems to check in on older people at higher risk from extreme heat.

The ideal city adapted for powerful heatwaves would have buildings specifically designed to stay cool, with shutters to create shade or cooling systems.

It would also have lots of trees to lower temperatures and places people can seek shelter. And hospitals and health services would need to be able to cope with the more emergencies that will inevitably happen, Arrighi explains.

Ben Rich
BBC Weather

Europe’s highest temperature on Monday was in southern Spain – where Andujar reached 44.8C.

Sicily wasn’t far behind at 43.5C.

And countries including Italy, Greece and Turkey also got above 40C, so the heat has been widespread.

It’s also set to continue for much of this week with some places expected to see even higher temperatures over the next few days. The UN's weather agency, the World Meteorological Organization, says the heat will intensify by Wednesday in parts of the Mediterranean including Turkey and Greece.

The nights will also be extremely warm, offering little relief from the persistent heat.

Image source, Reuters

One of the 4,000 evacuees of the wildfire in La Palma in the Canary Islands has been surveying his burnt-out home after escaping with his wife and children.

The forest fire in Tijarafe broke out on Saturday and firefighters are still bringing it under control.

Speaking to Reuters, Alfonso Ballesteros describes escaping from the flames. "We did it very calmly, which was the right thing to do. Then we just explained to them (the children) that our house burnt down.

"My son was worried about his toys, but we told him that the toys will be bought back and now we have to draw a picture of how we want to rebuild the house - it is fine, they are living an adventure and that’s how we wanted to focus it.

"We are calm and we are excited to start again, we can keep doing our work, and our farmland was not affected."

Image source, Reuters

Image source, .

What do you want to know about these heatwaves? We'll be putting your questions to experts in our coverage this week, so let us know what you're wondering or worrying about.

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• Email: yourquestions@bbc.co.uk, external
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In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.

High temperatures are being recorded around the northern hemisphere, with officials warning it is not safe to be out in the heat. Residents and tourists around the world share how they're managing.

Rob Cameron
BBC Prague Correspondent

The Czech Red Cross is launching a new public safety campaign to tackle a high number of people drowning, as Czechs seek relief from the sweltering heat.

Five people drowned over the days from Friday to Sunday on what was the hottest weekend of the year.

Temperatures north of Prague and in the western city of Pilsen reached 38.6C on Saturday, while record highs for that day were recorded at nearly 100 of the country's 160 weather stations.

The country's record is 40.4C, recorded on 20 August 2012.

As the thermometer soared on Saturday, the Red Cross's water rescue service began erecting a number of new signs at the country's most popular lakes and reservoirs, warning people not to swim alone, not to stray too far from the shore and to always wear life vests when canoeing, boating or jet-skiing.

Image source, Reuters

We've mentioned earlier that parts of the US are bracing for the return of wildfire smoke from Canada this week. Some of you may remember that same smoke blanketing popular landmarks in New York, like the Statue of Liberty earlier this summer.

The reason the smoke has not gone away is because fires continue to burn across Canada from coast to coast. There are currently 883 wildfires burning, with 580 of those considered to be out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

Experts say drought is a major factor behind the blazes, coupled with ongoing above normal temperatures for the northern country.

While wildfires are common in western Canada, this year has been different in that major fires have erupted in eastern parts of the country as well, like Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Authorities have called it an "unprecedented" year in many ways:

• More than 24 million acres of land have burned so far this year across Canada, surpassing the county's previous record
• More than 155,000 people have had to be evacuated at some point as a result of fires, the largest number of evacuees seen in recent decades
• A record 3,200 international firefighters have been deployed to Canada to help put out the fires

Image source, LivTours

We've been hearing from Angelo Carotenuto, who runs tours in Rome.

He says the heat coming "all at once" after a cooler and rainier May and June means "has caught all us professionals in the tourism field a little bit unprepared and clients, tourists are quite unhappy about it".

"It is affecting the business a little bit, he says. "We are receiving cancellations or requests of changes to early morning tours or evening tours, which obviously at this point with such abruptness and short notice was very hard to accommodate."

Justin Rowlatt
BBC Climate editor. reporting from Murcia, Spain

As a journalist covering this latest European heatwave, I’ve got no choice but to work in the heat and it isn’t easy. Even the slightest exercise and you break into a sweat, not great when you need to do anything on camera.

But it is the way it slowly saps your energy that is most debilitating.

Keeping a body cool is hard work for our metabolism, particularly as the temperatures push above our body temperature of 37C. You gradually get less able to concentrate and find yourself getting irritated.

That’s when I try to make a break for the car.

And yes, bang on the air conditioning to get a moment of respite.

When it’s this hot you really don’t have any choice.

Georgina Rannard
Climate and science reporter

“What we are seeing now is exactly what we expect in a world where we are still burning fossil fuels,” Dr Friederike Otto, a leading climate scientist at Imperial College London, tells us.

She is very clear that humans are “100% behind” the upward trend in global temperatures.

Humans started burning coal, oil and gas on a large scale about 200 years ago when the Industrial Revolution started. And the carbon dioxide emissions are still growing.

In 2022, they grew by 0.9%, or 321 million tonnes, according to the International Energy Agency, external. That’s despite the promises made by governments globally to radically shift to green energy.

There is now more CO2 in the atmosphere than at any time in at least four million years, according to the US weather service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

These are huge numbers to get our heads around - but they are what is driving global warming and climate change, which scientists say causes more intense and frequent heatwaves. The CO2 emissions trap the sun's heat.

Dr Otto explains that the rise in global temperature would not happen in a world unaffected by climate change, but she says we also have no idea what the new normal will be like. “We are not in a stable climate. We will find out the new normal when we stop burning fossil fuels,” she says.

Country music singer Jason Aldean rushed off-stage during a concert in the US state of Connecticut after suffering from what he says was "heat exhaustion".

The video above shows Aldean singing when he pauses, then suddenly turns and jogs towards the back of the stage as his band continues to play.

Aldean spoke about the incident on his Instagram, saying he needed an intravenous drip after the show but was feeling better now.

"Man, it was hot, I was playing golf all day yesterday and then got to the show and just, I think it was a combination of dehydration and just heat exhaustion," he said.

Aldean said he was "trying to get through as much of the show as I could" but had to get himself off stage to figure out why he was feeling that way.