A girl splashes her face with water during a heat wave in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on July 8. (Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Earth is on track to experience another record-breaking summer, with temperatures soaring into the triple digits around the globe.
In the U.S., over 140 million people were under extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings on Wednesday. Temperatures broke records in the Western region of the U.S., climbing to 120-plus degrees Fahrenheit in places like Las Vegas and California’s Death Valley National Park.
At least seven people have died from heat-related illnesses, including five in Portland, Ore.
In New York, a bridge connecting Manhattan to the Bronx borough became stuck open on Monday when the bridge's metal became overheated, causing it to swell. Firefighters pumped water onto the bridge to try to cool it down.
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People and animals in other parts of the world like Tokyo, the Czech Republic and Mexico are trying to beat the extreme heat of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, taking shelter in cooler places and taking advantage of shade, and nearby mist showers, water fountains and piles of ice for zoo-dwelling polar bears.
And if you feel like heat waves are lasting longer than they used to, you’re right.
The global temperature in June hit a record high for the 13th straight month.
Here’s a look at how people and animals around the world are trying to beat the extreme heat.
A polar bear cools down in ice that was brought to its enclosure on a hot and sunny day at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, on July 10. (Petr David Josek/AP)
A man in Mexicali, Mexico, tries to stay hydrated by drinking water during a heat wave on July 4. (Victor Medina/Reuters)
Tourists take photos at an unofficial thermometer at Furnace Creek Visitor Center at Death Valley National Park in California on July 9. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Visitors walk near a "Stop: Extreme Heat Danger" sign at the Badwater Basin salt flats in Death Valley National Park on July 9. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Tourists cool down under a mist shower on Monday in central Tokyo, where temperatures have topped 95 degrees Fahrenheit. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images)
A temperature reading via the World's Tallest Thermometer landmark in Baker, Calif., registers higher than 125 degrees Fahrenheit during a heat wave on July 7. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
Tourists along Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong use umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun on July 8. (Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images)
A pedestrian cools his head at a public water tap on a street in Podgorica on July 9 as temperatures in Montenegro's capital have reached 107 degrees Fahrenheit. (Savo Prelevic/AFP via Getty Images)
A young girl plays in the fountain in Belgrade, Serbia, on July 8, amid a heat wave. (Oliver Bunic/AFP via Getty Images)
A man takes a break under a cooling mist on Tuesday as the Japanese government issued a heatstroke alert in Tokyo and other prefectures. (Issei Kato/Reuters)
A dog swims in a fountain to try to cool down amid a heat wave Tuesday in Zagreb, Croatia. (Damir Sencar/AFP via Getty Images)
A woman walks past a mist shower in central Tokyo on July 9. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images)
A sign reading "Heat Kills!" is seen during a long-duration California heat wave on July 8 in Death Valley National Park in California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Swiss researchers describe the Illgraben area as an “exceptionally active catchment” for “naturally occurring debris flows”. The power of such flows is clear to see in recent video captured after heavy rain.Local resident Pierre-Emmanuel Zufferey recorded this spectacular “roar of the elements” on July 12, as mud, water and debris came thundering down the hillside channel.Zufferey said around 15 minutes elapsed “between the intense precipitation and the arrival of water, stone, wood.”There would be “no chance to escape” for anyone in the torrent’s path, he said.According to the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, “While debris flows are rather rare elsewhere, Illgraben has an average of three to five per year. This makes the Illgraben a particularly useful research site.” Credit: Pierre-Emmanuel Zufferey via Storyful
Polish divers have found a 19th-century shipwreck off the coast of Sweden laden with bottles of champagne, a "very exclusive" cargo they say may have been destined for the tsar of Russia before the vessel sank. They discovered the wreck, which also contains porcelain and bottles of mineral water, around 60 metres (66 yards) below the surface of the Baltic Sea, but say they would need permission from Swedish authorities to bring the cargo to shore. "This ship is almost whole there, it is not destroyed much, only the bow was a bit damaged," said Marek Cacaj from the Baltictech diving group.
It is a popular tradition to eat mussels in Brussels but what may surprise many is that none of the molluscs visitors enjoy are locally sourced in Belgium. On the historical Grand Place in Brussels, a major tourist destination in Belgium, a restaurant owner tells AFP he offers the highly popular traditional dish of mussels and fries on his menu all year round.
The UK may have its hottest day of the year so far, as temperatures are expected to top 30C (86F) today. People in England and Wales will see a dry day with lots of sunshine, that may break this year's previous temperature high of 31.9C (89.4F) in St James's Park in central London on 19 July.
A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued for much of the UK. The Met Office alert covers most of southern and northern England, the Midlands, and parts of Wales. "Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop on Thursday and may lead to some disruption," the Met Office said.