Global warming is something we have all been aware of, however, there is a general lack of action by all of us. This lack of action has now led to direct consequences for our health, even leading to deaths.

The worst heat was felt in southern Europe, while punishing temperatures were forecast to reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit in Paris and remain unusually high in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The heat was so expansive that mountaintops, including the French Alps, that are usually frozen from snowpack saw record temperatures. Heat records were set for June in Spain and Portugal.

Europe is currently experiencing its first major heatwave of the summer, with cities including Paris, Rome, The Hague, and Barcelona facing temperatures well above the seasonal average. Following a notably dry spring,

Extreme heat in Europe has been blamed for hundreds of deaths, a national monument has been shuttered in Greece and millions of Americans are under heat warnings from the National Weather Service as a scorching July gets underway around the world.

Europe's continuing heat wave on Wednesday helped fuel a virulent wildfire in a Catalonian national park that has burned over 20,000 acres in the last 24 hours.