heatwave A Claas KGaA Lexion combine harvester cuts through a field of rapeseed during a harvest in South Woodham Ferrers, U.K., on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Major crops such as rapeseed and wheat are already expected to be smaller due to dry conditions in key producing countries. (Photo: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) – Extreme weather that's gripping northern Europe and parts of Asia may persist through early August, prolonging a deadly heatwave that's parched crops and sparked devastating forest fires.

Temperatures have risen to a record from Japan to Norway because of a stationary blocking high-pressure system, the World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday. Relief from soaring temperatures — which topped 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Arctic Circle — may not arrive for at least two weeks, potentially extending a spate of weather-related disasters from wildfires near Athens to floods in Laos.

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