North African Heat Domes Becoming a Structural Feature of European Summers

Hot, dry air from North Africa formed a heat dome over the Iberian Peninsula in summer 2026, pushing heat toward France, Switzerland, and Italy — mirroring a June 2025 episode that triggered heat warnings across 17 Italian cities. The back-to-back recurrence, coinciding with Western Europe's warmest June–July on record, signals a shift from anomaly to pattern.