As we experience
a particularly warm spell in the middle of the Highveld winter, parts of Europe are in the grip of an exceptional heatwave. The World Meteorological Organisation predicts temperatures will continue to beat the seasonal average from Ireland to Scandinavia and the Baltic countries until early August. Many areas have seen record high temperatures, with scientists indicating in particular that this has been the hottest July for at least 250 years in Sweden. As Europeans make the most of their hot summer days, there are warnings being issued that the high temperatures could become the norm in future, and that heat-related deaths could treble by 2050, according to the environment audit committee.
1. COOLING OFF
Boys play in a fountain on a hot summer day in Brussels. Picture: Reuters
2. POPULAR PLACE
An aerial picture shows people swimming at the Kiebitzberge public outdoor swimming pool on a warm summer’s day in Kleinmachnow, eastern Germany. Picture: AFP
3. PURRFECTLY NICE
A cat licks an ice cream in Berlin, where temperatures were around 32oC. Picture: AFP
4. GRIN AND BEAR IT
People watching a parasailor as a heatwave sweeps across northern Europe in Nice, on the French Riviera. Picture: AFP
5. JAM-PACKED
People cool off at the beach during the heatwave in the southeastern coastal town of Benidorm. Picture: Reuters
6. WATER BABIES
People play next to a fountain in Battersea Park in London. Picture: Reuters
7. SPURT ALERT
Children cool off in fountains in Nice. Picture: EPA-EFE
8. A LOT OF DOTS
A man swims past Christo’s floating sculpture The London Mastaba on the Serpentine in London. Picture: Reuters
9. FEELING THE HEAT
Gunhild Ninis Rosqvist, a Stockholm University professor, taking measurements atop Kebnekaise mountain in northern Sweden. A glacier on the southern tip of the mountain is melting due to record hot temperatures. Picture: AFP
10. TAKING A DIVE
A dog called Tilly jumps into the water at Enfield Town Park in London. Picture: Reuters