While 66 million people in Türkiye have been exposed to extreme heat over the past three days, a total of 290 million people in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East have experienced abnormal temperatures. Maximum temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and above in many cities in Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Turkmenistan, Algeria, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Greece. In Bursa, temperatures reached 34.1 degrees Celsius on June 12, which was 8 degrees above the seasonal norm. Exposure to extreme heat is known to cause heat-related illnesses such as exhaustion and heat stroke. Additionally, extreme heat increases the risk of wildfires.
