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UK weather heats up as Europe smashes records

By Eliza Mackintosh, CNN

Updated 3:00 p.m. ET, July 25, 2019
10:00 a.m. ET, July 25, 2019

Paris record broken, again

A thermometer reflecting in a window reads 41 Celsius in Paris, as a new heatwave hits the French capital.
A thermometer reflecting in a window reads 41 Celsius in Paris, as a new heatwave hits the French capital.

Temperatures keep rising in Paris.

The new record-high for the city of lights is now 41.7 Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit), confirmed by Météo-France.

9:39 a.m. ET, July 25, 2019

What makes Europe's heat wave so insufferable? No AC

A sticker on a train from Munich to Berlin reads: "Air conditioning defective." (Martin Schutt/DPA/Getty Images)
A sticker on a train from Munich to Berlin reads: "Air conditioning defective." (Martin Schutt/DPA/Getty Images)

Many European cities are not designed to deal with the triple-digit temperatures slashing records across the continent this week.

Air conditioning is not particularly common in public buildings and homes across temperate Europe, nor is it widespread on transportation systems. Fewer than 5% of all European households have been air-conditioned, according to a 2017 report.

That means coping with sweltering temperatures takes some creativity.

Authorities have activated emergency plans that include setting up public cooling rooms and extending hours at swimming pools and parks.

The number of online searches for fans and AC has spiked in recent days, as people try to find some relief.

Queen Elizabeth was seen beating the heat wave with a metallic Dyson fan (worth several hundred dollars). Some eagle-eyed observers spotted the cooling device in a photo of the Queen meeting with the newly minted UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Buckingham Palace.

8:56 a.m. ET, July 25, 2019

Britons sweat on hottest-ever July day

Britons are braving the hottest July day the country has ever seen.

Temperatures rose to 36.9 Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday in Heathrow, London, home to the country's busiest airport.

The Met Office, the national weather service, said the UK could still see an all-time record if temperatures climb further.

8:57 a.m. ET, July 25, 2019

The Netherlands breaks all-time temperature record in less than 24 hours

From CNN's Mick Krever, Sarah Dean and Lauren Said-Moorhouse

A woman holds an umbrella to protect herself from the sun as she walks past the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam on Thursday.
A woman holds an umbrella to protect herself from the sun as she walks past the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam on Thursday. Robin Utrecht/AFP/Getty Images

Have some sympathy for those struggling in the heat in the Netherlands today because the country just broke its temperature record for the second time in two days.

Dutch residents were treated to a sweltering 39.3 C (102.7 F) on Wednesday, breaking a 75-year record, according to the national weather forecasting institute. 

That record was surpassed less than day later when a Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute station in Deelen measured a new high of 40 C (104 F) on Thursday at 1:55 p.m. (7:55 a.m. ET). Since then, temperatures have continued to rise -- it is now 41.7 C.

9:30 a.m. ET, July 25, 2019

Paris joins growing list of places smashing temperature records

From CNN’s Antoine Crouin in Paris and Lauren Said-Moorhouse in London

Temperatures reached a record-breaking 41C (105.8F) in Paris, according to Météo France, the French national meteorological service.

The previous record was set more than 70 years ago in 1947, when the mercury rose to 40.4C.

Europe is currently battling its second heat wave of the summer with Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands also experiencing their hottest days ever this week.

A woman cools off under a public water spray on the bank of the River Seine in Paris on Thursday as Europe's second heat wave of the year peaks.
A woman cools off under a public water spray on the bank of the River Seine in Paris on Thursday as Europe's second heat wave of the year peaks. Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

8:17 a.m. ET, July 25, 2019

The hottest summers in Europe have all happened in the last 20 years

From CNN's Jordan Evans and Brandon Miller

Swimmers sunbathe on a float on the Altwarmbuechener See lake in Hanover, northern Germany, where temperatures were predicted to reach 39 Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit). (Christophe Gateau/DPA/AFP)
Swimmers sunbathe on a float on the Altwarmbuechener See lake in Hanover, northern Germany, where temperatures were predicted to reach 39 Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit). (Christophe Gateau/DPA/AFP)

Heat waves are becoming increasingly more common -- thanks to the climate crisis.

"Heat waves are on the rise," Stefan Rahmstorf, co-chairman of Earth system analysis at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and professor at Potsdam University in Germany, said in a statement.

Rahmstorf connected recent heat waves to climate change by comparing them with 500 years of records.

"The hottest summers in Europe since the year 1500 AD all occurred since the last turn of the century: 2018, 2010, 2003, 2016, 2002," Rahmstorf said.

Heat waves are some of the most direct manifestations of climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Europe is certainly not the only place feeling the heat.

Deadly heat waves are going to be a much bigger problem in the coming decades, becoming more frequent and occurring over a much greater portion of the planet because of climate change, according to a study published two summers ago in the journal Nature Climate Change.

7:18 a.m. ET, July 25, 2019

Train tracks could "buckle" in heat, British rail owner warns

From CNN’s Samuel Quashie-Idun in London

A photo of London railways taken during the last heat wave in June.
A photo of London railways taken during the last heat wave in June.

Train tracks in the UK could buckle under Thursday’s extreme heat, the owner of most of Britain’s railway network has warned.

The temperature of the steel tracks is set to exceed 50 Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in and around London, according to Network Rail.

Trains have been made to run at a slower speed as a precaution.

Britain's railway tracks are able to cope with up to 27 Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit), the average summer rail temperature in the UK.

But air temperatures are forecast to possibly reach a record of 39 Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) in England on Thursday, meaning the steel from the tracks could expand “and rails can bend, flex and, in serious cases, buckle.”