Paris sizzles as Europe grapples with heatwave 

Paris, July 25

Hot, hotter, hottest! Paris, London and points across Europe are bracing for record temperatures Thursday as the second heat wave this summer bakes the continent.

Climate scientists warn this could become the new normal in many parts of the world. But temperate Europe — where air conditioning is rare — isn’t equipped for the temperatures frying the region this week.

So tourists frolicked in fountains to seek relief and authorities and volunteers fanned out to help the elderly, sick and homeless hit hardest by the heat. Trains were cancelled in Britain and France, and French authorities urged travellers to stay home.

One by one, heat records are being broken across Europe . On Thursday, the Paris area could be as hot as 42 ?C as a result of hot, dry air coming from northern Africa that’s trapped between cold stormy systems.

London might see 39°C. And swaths of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland could face temperatures exceeding 40 ° C.And this is only the latest of several hot days: Belgium and Germany recorded their all-time high temperatures on Wednesday. Germany’s record of 40.5 degrees is likely going to be very short-lived, however — the German Weather Service is expecting even higher temperatures on Thursday. 

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