Historic heat wave underway in Europe that will intensify into the weekendThe thermometer at London’s Heathrow airport topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius). The heat wave — propelled by hot air blowing in from Africa — is expected to peak in France on Saturday. Scientists said Spain’s earliest heat wave in more than four decades had coincided with the hatching season for swifts, a protected species. “They’re literally being cooked.”The extreme heat, coupled with lack of rain, has reduced some of Europe’s major rivers to low levels. After a heat wave killed 15,000 people in France in 2003, French nursing homes developed emergency plans for weeks like this.

Source: Washington Post June 17, 2022 17:28 UTC