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Agence France-Presse

Paris on Thursday baked in an all-time high temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius as a ferocious heatwave smashed records across northern Europe, sparking concerns about public health and causing new misery for rail travellers.
As records also tumbled in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, Paris beat the previous top of 40.4 set in July 1947.
Trains have been slowed in several European countries to avoid damage to the railway networks. French national operator SNCF urged travellers to delay journeys planned for Thursday, while German railway company Deutsche Bahn offered travellers a chance to change tickets free of charge.

In the sweltering French capital, authorities warned people to keep an eye on those living alone.
At the same time, the scorching weather caused misery for millions of commuters on public transport.
“It’s so hot in the metro, it’s unbearable. There are so many people, no air conditioning and everyone is on top of one other,” said Paris commuter Petra Ulm, 34, a clinical researcher.
The heatwave, which was expected to ease up on Friday as rain and thunderstorms move in, again focused public attention on the problems caused by climate change.
In Britain, temperatures reached 38.1 in Cambridge. It was still below the UK’s all-time high of 38.5.
Those lucky enough to be by the sea could still enjoy the weather.
“It’s obviously not so good for some people, but if you’ve got the day off and young kids then it’s great for a day on the beach,” said Graham Clarke, 50, an insurance agent, enjoying the sands of Broadstairs in southeast England.
There are so many people, no air conditioning and everyone is on top of one other
Petra Ulm, commuter
In the Netherlands, a new high on Thursday of 40.4 in the south broke a record dating back to 1944.
In Amsterdam, crowds jumped into a central square fountain, while municipal workers sprayed water on bridges over the city’s famed canals to stop metal structures deforming in the heat.
“I’m just trying not to move too much,” said Serona Methorst, a 19-year-old Dutch student sitting under a tree with friends. “We are so used to a colder climate, people are really disturbed by this weather.”
In the centre of the country, Dutch police jokingly urged criminals not to plan any heists during the heatwave.

“It’s tough to work now, not just for you but also for us,” the police posted in a Facebook message. “Stay at home, turn on the air-conditioning.”
On Thursday, Germany again hit a national record of 41.5 in Lingen, western Germany.
The Grohnde nuclear plant in western Germany will temporarily shut down on Friday as a way to protect the environment, its operator said. Water used to cool the reactor is poured back into rivers and the shutdown is meant to protect already overheated river ecosystems.
Belgium on Thursday also reached a record of 40.6 on the Kleine-Brogel military base, in northeastern Belgium.
Two suspected drug smugglers had to call police in the Belgian port city of Antwerp after becoming trapped in a shipping container filled with cocaine, prosecutors said.

Eurostar and Thalys rail services from Brussels to London and Paris also experienced major delays and cancellations after a cable failure the day earlier.
“I ask everyone who can avoid or delay their journeys to do so,” said French Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne, advising workers who could do their jobs at home not to go to their offices.
Climate change made French heatwave ‘at least five times more likely’ in hottest June in history
The northern third of France, including Paris, was under a red alert while the rest of the country had a yellow warning and water-use restrictions were in force.
In Austria, a three-year-old child died of dehydration after falling asleep in a car parked in full sunshine at the family farm, local authorities said.

France remains haunted by the early summer of 2003 when 15,000 deaths were blamed on the heat and the authorities were hit for not mobilising fast enough.
“We need to take care of ourselves but above all others, especially those who are alone, and be able to detect the first symptoms of heatstroke,” said Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
Local authorities have placed restrictions on water usage in many areas due to drought-like conditions that have seen ground and river water levels fall dramatically.
A June 26-28 blast of heat in France was 4 degrees hotter than an equally rare June heatwave would have been in 1900, the World Weather Attribution (WWA) said this month.
One study by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology said the deadly weeks-long heatwave across northern Europe in 2018 would have been statistically impossible without climate change.


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Extreme weather

Record-high temperatures in Paris as Europe’s heatwave intensifies

People cool down in the fountains of the Trocadero gardens in Paris. Photo: AP

A picture taken on July 25, 2019 shows a pharmacy thermometer displaying a temperature of 42,5 degrees Celsius, in Paris, as a new heatwave hits the French capital. - Paris on July 25, 2019 baked in an all-time high temperature over 42 degrees Celsius as a ferocious heatwave smashed records across northern Europe, sparking concerns about public health and new misery for rail travellers. (Photo by BERTRAND GUAY / AFP)

People cooling off in the Trocadero fountains across from the Eiffel Tower are reflected in sunglasses in Paris as a new heatwave broke temperature records in France, July 25, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

People looking for refreshment from the summer heat on Thursday, July 25, 2019 at the North Sea coast in Egmond, northern Netherlands. The Netherlands recorded high temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius as Europe faces another heatwave. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

(190725) -- MUNICH, July 25, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Children play at a fountain in Munich, southern Germany, on July 25, 2019. The German Weather Service (DWD) issued a comprehensive heat warning on Wednesday. Temperatures in some parts of Germany hit 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)

Climate change made French heatwave ‘at least five times more likely’ in hottest June in history

People enjoy the sun and the sea on a beach in Antibes, southern France. Photo: EPA-EFE

People cool off by the Vistula River during a heatwave in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, June 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Boys jump into the Yenisei River during a heatwave in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, June 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

Children play under water jets as they cool off during a heatwave in Nice on June 26, 2019. - Forecasters say Europeans will feel sizzling heat this week with temperatures soaring as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in an "unprecedented" June heatwave hitting much of Western Europe. (Photo by VALERY HACHE / AFP)

France hits record temperature of 45C as Europe wilts in heatwave

People jump into the Arga river from a bridge in the Navarrese town of Irozt in Spain. Photo: EPA-EFE

(190628) -- BEIJING, June 28, 2019 (Xinhua) -- A lemur eats iced fruits at Zagreb Zoo in Zagreb, Croatia, June 27, 2019. A heat wave hit Croatia and many parts of Europe in recent days. (Xinhua/Tomislav Miletic)

People drink and bathe in the Loire River in Tours on June 27, 2019, during a heatwave. - Europeans braced on June 27 for the expected peak of a sweltering heatwave that has sent temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), with schools in France closing and wildfires in Spain spinning out of control. (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP)

epa07677925 Young people jump into the Arga river from a bridge in the Navarrese town of Irozt to reduce the heat wave that goes through Navarra, in Spain, 27 june 2019. Temperatures will reach over 40 degrees Celsius in at least twelve communities due to the entry of Saharan warm and dry air mass into the Spanish peninsula. EPA-EFE/Jesus Diges

Visitors take shelter from the heat under “Umbrella Sky Project” installation by a Portuguese artist in Aix-en-Provence, France. Photo: AFP

Vicious heatwave ravages Europe, killing several people across the continent

People cool off at the beach amid a heatwave in Valencia. Photo: AFP

People cool off in the sea in Marseille as a heatwave hits much of the country, France, June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

People bathe in the Trocadero Fountain near the Eiffel Tower in Paris during a heatwave on June 28, 2019. - The temperature in France on June 28 surpassed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time as Europe wilted in a major heatwave, state weather forecaster Meteo-France said. (Photo by Zakaria ABDELKAFI / AFP)

TOPSHOT - A boy lies on the pavement as he cools off under water jets at a fountain in Montpellier on June 27, 2019, southern France, during a heat wave. - Europeans braced on June 27, 2019 for the expected peak of a sweltering heatwave that has sent temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius, with schools in France closing and wildfires in Spain spinning out of control. (Photo by Pascal GUYOT / AFP)

Two firefighters look at burned terrain in La Palma d'Ebre, Spain, Friday June 28, 2019. A major wildfire in northeastern Spain that began in a pile of chicken dung raged out of control for a third straight day Friday with more than 600 firefighters and six water-dropping aircraft battling the blaze in the Catalonia region. Spain is forecast to endure the peak of a recent heat wave, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Jordi Borras)

A fireman works on the extinguishing of a forest fire in Ziltendorf near Frankfurt an der Oder, northeastern Germany, close to the border with Poland, on June 26, 2019. (Photo by Julian Stähle / dpa / AFP) / Germany OUT

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World

Europe

The heatwave, which was expected to ease on Friday, again focused public attention on the problems caused by climate change
France remains haunted by the early summer of 2003 when 15,000 deaths were blamed on the heat


The heatwave, which was expected to ease on Friday, again focused public attention on the problems caused by climate change.
