Images of drought and wildfires around the world since the beginning of 2026, as the world experienced its second-hottest May on record, with Europe baking under an unusually early heatwave as climate extremes become the "new normal" on the continent, the EU's climate monitor said. Records were broken in Britain, France, Ireland and Portugal last month as a "heat dome" of warm air from northern Africa pushed temperatures well above normal levels across western Europe. STOCKSHOTS