A relentless European heat wave helped fuel a deadly wildfire in Spain while the European Union presented plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under scorching temperatures on Wednesday.

The blaze that broke out late on Tuesday created an enormous thick plume of ash and smoke that reached 14,000 meters (45,000 feet) of altitude, making it the largest registered by firefighters in Catalonia, a northeastern region of Spain.

A heat wave covered much of Europe on Monday, with a record-hot first day of play at Wimbledon and high winds fanning forest fires in Turkey.

Heat warnings were issued for parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and the U.K., with new highs expected on Wednesday before rain should bring respite to some areas.

Temperatures in southern Spain soared to 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday, a new record for June, the national weather agency said on Monday.

The mercury climbed to its new high at 4:40 pm in Huelva, near the border with Portugal, edging out the previous record, 45.2C that was set in 1965 in Seville, it said.

Flash floods triggered by pre-monsoon rains swept away dozens of tourists in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least eight people.

The nationwide death toll from rain-related incidents rose to 18 over the past 24 hours, officials said.

Italy's health ministry warned residents and tourists on Friday of soaring temperatures across the country, issuing a red alert for 21 cities this weekend.

The ministry issued its top alert for cities including the capital Rome, economic powerhouse Milan and Venice -- where the rich and famous are celebrating the wedding of Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos.

Torrential storms in France caused two deaths, flooded Paris streets and created a leak in parliament's roof that interrupted a prime minister's speech.

"Have you noticed that it was raining?" Prime Minister François Bayrou pointed out, looking up at the National Assembly's leaking domed ceiling after delivering a speech on the Middle East as a deluge fell outside, quickly inundating Paris boulevards on Wednesday evening.

Anxiety, grief, anger, fear, helplessness. The emotional toll of climate change is broad-ranging, especially for young people.

Many worry about what the future holds, and a daily grind of climate anxiety and distress can lead to sleeplessness, an inability to focus and worse. Some young people wonder whether it's moral to bring children into the world. Many people grieve for the natural world.

Climate change has been exacerbating heat waves, and the problem isn't going away anytime soon. An increasingly hot planet — due largely to burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas — means already hot regions are getting worse.

Heat doesn't just mean canceled events. It also poses a health risk, especially for children, older people and those with certain health conditions.

An intense and nearly historic weather pattern is cooking much of America under a dangerous heat dome this week with triple-digit temperatures in places that haven't been so hot in more than a decade.

The heat wave is especially threatening because it's hitting cities like Boston, New York and Philadelphia early in the summer when people haven't gotten their bodies adapted to the broiling conditions, several meteorologists said. The dome of high pressure that's parking over the eastern United States is trapping hot air from the Southwest that already made an uncomfortable stop in the Midwest.

Hundreds of firefighters backed up by aircraft were battling a wildfire burning out of control for the third day on the eastern Aegean island of Chios Tuesday, with authorities issuing multiple evacuation orders.

Towering walls of flames tore through forest and agricultural land on the island, where authorities have declared a state of emergency and have sent firefighting reinforcements from Athens, the northern city of Thessaloniki and the nearby island of Lesbos.