AP PHOTOS: Little relief as record temperatures sizzle around the world

A wave of heat is not loosening its grip on the globe.

Phoenix has broken its own streak of blistering hot days, southern Europeans and millions of people on vacation there broiled under near-record temperatures, while parts of the Middle East tested the limits of what the human body is capable of enduring.

Parts of southern Europe also have gone up in flames, with wildfires raging in Greece that forced evacuations and highway closures this week. People returned to their homes Tuesday when a fire finally receded after spending the night on beaches, in hotels and in public facilities.

The heat is expected to worsen again over the next few days.

People around the world sought shade and water for respite, including in Lebanon, Spain and Turkey, where even those used to high temperatures felt the unusually sweltering summer.

There was some light relief, too, in Israel, where people took to the beach in mermaid tails.

This June was the hottest on record, and July is expected to be even hotter. The world has been in unchartered hot territory for most of the month, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer.

Climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is causing the world to warm, with the Earth’s average temperature about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) higher than pre-industrial times. It’s causing more record-breaking heat and extreme weather events around the world.

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