French heatwave: 'Painfully clear' that global heating happening faster than predicted

People cool off at the fountain of the Trocadero garden next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Hot weather is expected to last for several days across the country. Picture: Michel Euler/AP

A leading Irish environmental campaigner witnessing the brutal heatwave engulfing France and Spain in person has said it is “easy to grasp just how dangerous they are” as the countries bake in temperatures over 40°C.

Veteran environmental campaigner and journalist John Gibbons went on a family holiday to Spain and France on June 8, and told the Irish Examiner it is “frightening to consider how much has already changed at just 1.2°C of global warming”.