SoylentNews

Bytram writes in via IRC with two hot stories about the weather:

Records Tumble as Europe Swelters in Heatwave

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Records tumble as Europe swelters in heatwave

Belgium and the Netherlands have recorded their highest ever temperatures, in a heatwave searing Western Europe.

The Belgian town of Kleine Brogel in Limburg province hit 39.9C (102F), the hottest since records began in 1833.

A Eurostar train broke down in the extreme heat, trapping passengers.

The southern Dutch city of Eindhoven saw 39.3C, the highest temperature recorded since the Dutch royal meteorological institute began in 1901.

The highest temperature recorded in Paris - 40.4C in 1947 - is expected to be surpassed on Thursday.

Luxembourg is on red alert for the south and the capital - with top temperatures possibly climbing to 40C on Wednesday and even higher on Thursday.

Europe's Record-setting Heatwave to Spike Even Higher

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Europe's record-setting heatwave to spike even higher

A dangerously intense heatwave across much of Europe is to spike even higher Thursday after already breaking records in several countries, impacting rail traffic and sending people in search of shade and water.

Paris was expected to see the mercury soar to as much as 41 or 42 degrees Celsius, breaking a 70-year-plus record of 40.4C (104.7 Fahrenheit) and turning the UNESCO-listed capital into a baking urban bowl.

Britain's Met Office predicted a chance that the UK record of 38.5C, which was recorded in Faversham, Kent, in August 2004, would also be exceeded on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands all recorded their all-time highest temperatures.

Thursday was forecast to be the peak of Europe's latest heatwave—the second in less than a month and impetus for new focus to be given to climate change. Cooler weather with rain was expected to provide relief from Friday.

The body-sapping, leaden, shrivelling heat was posing difficulties for humans, animals and crops across the continent.

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.

Cyclists in the Tour de France in southern France had to puff their way over the course in well over 30C.

In the Netherlands, farmers have been leaving their cows outside to sleep, rather than bringing them in at night, while Dutch media said hundreds of pigs died when a ventilator failed at Middelharnis.

On Wednesday, the southern Dutch town of Gilze-Rijen experienced 38.8C heat, surpassing a record dating back 75 years.

Belgium registered an all-time high of 39.9C at the Kleine-Brogel military base, beating a record that dated back to June 1947.

And Germany's western town of Geilenkirche sweltered through 40.5C.

Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2