Greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning coal, oil and gas, have heated the planet by about 1.3 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times. Europe has warmed at twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Welcome to Europe 's new normal, said Hamdam Mostafavi in Libération (Paris), where our once-glorious summers have been made almost unliveable by extreme heat. Even in Germany, temperatures hit 40°C during last week's heatwave - the point at which the human body stops functioning optimally.

Europe's latest spell of sizzling heat, which ended last week, caused a threefold rise in heat-related deaths because human-induced climate change boosted the intensity of the heat wave, British scientists said.

It's not just Texas. In the past couple of weeks, communities all around the country have been hit with torrential rains and deadly flash flooding. Extreme weather events like this are expected to become more common as the planet heats up.