Unforgiving heat scorched parts of the Northern Hemisphere on Monday, triggering health warnings and fanning wildfires in the latest stark reminder of the effects of global warming. From North America to Europe and Asia, people gulped water and sought shelter from the sweltering heat, as temperatures crept toward record highs. Europe, the globe’s fastest-warming continent, was bracing for its hottest-ever temperature this week on Italy’s islands of Sicily and Sardinia, where a high of 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) is predicted, according to the European Space Agency. “We’re from Texas and it’s really hot there, we thought we would escape the heat but it’s even hotter here,” Colman Peavy, 30, said as he sipped a capuccino at an outside terrasse in central Rome with his wife Ana at the start of a two-week Italian vacation. The mercury was due to hit 40C afternoon on Monday in Rome, where some 15,000 braved the temperatures the previous day to hear Pope Francis lead prayers, using parasols and fans to keep cool. Priest Francois Mbemba said he was “sweating like hell” under his black robes, adding that it felt hotter in St Peter’s Square than in his Democratic Republic of Congo diocese. In Japan, heatstroke alerts were issued in 32 out of the country’s 47 prefectures, mainly in central and southwestern regions, as scorching temperatures continued Monday. At least 60 people in Japan were treated for heatstroke, local media reported. The heat was enough for at least one man to dispense with social mortification in Hamamatsu city. “It’s honestly unbearable without a parasol, although I have to admit it is a bit embarrassing,” he told national broadcaster NHK as he used an umbrella to shield out the sun. By late afternoon, Toyota city, home to the leading automaker, had recorded the country’s highest temperature for the day of 39.1 degrees Celsius, as television broadcasters urged people to stay indoors and avoid the life-threatening heat. Japan’s highest-ever temperature was 41.1C first recorded in Kumagaya city in 2018. Authorities warned residents in southwestern regions still recovering from recent torrential rain and floods to stay hydrated as they cleaned up their houses. In Western and southern states in the US, which are used to high temperatures, more than 80 million people were under advisories as a “widespread and oppressive” heatwave roasted the region.