A Dangerous Heat Wave Bearing Down on Europe Once Again

Baby elephant Ben Long cools off on July 24, 2019 in his pool at the zoo in Leipzig, eastern Germany, where temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius.

JENS KALAENE/Getty Images

The second heat wave of the summer is bearing down on Europe and is threatening to break records once again.

On Tuesday, the French city of Bordeaux registered a temperature exceeding 106.1 Fahrenheit (41.2 Celsius), making it officially the hottest day on record, smashing the old record set in 2003.

The French weather service Mateo also predicts that the French capital of Paris could reach 107.6 Fahrenheit (42 C) this week, marking its highest temperature ever there as well.

France likely won’t be the last country to see record-setting temperatures this week as experts also believe the extreme heat is heading to Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, according to the BBC.

"As we saw in June [heat waves] are becoming more frequent, they're starting earlier and they're becoming more intense," Claire Nullis, a World Meteorological Organization spokesperson told the BBC. "It's not a problem that's going to go away."

London, Business Insider reported, is expected to reach 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 C) on Thursday, while temperatures throughout England could top the all-time record of 101.3 Fahrenheit (38.5 C).

"If these predictions are met, this heat wave would go down in the history books,” Andreas Friedrich, a spokesperson for the German Meteorological Service DWD, told RP Online. "As a meteorologist, I have never seen anything like this before."

The extreme heat is already being blamed for the deaths of at least two people. According to Global News, a 93-year-old man in Spain collapsed and died due to the heat. A 17-year-old also died of heat-related causes after jumping into a swimming pool in an attempt to cool off.

Travelers should ensure they stay out of the heat during the peak hours of the day and carry plenty of water with them as they explore. Though really, the heat waves may be becoming too frequent to avoid. This latest heat wave marks the second such weather event in as many months. In June, Travel + Leisure reported, temperatures across France, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Italy topped 100 degree Fahrenheit, with humidity levels making it feel much, much warmer.

“I’m worried about people who are downplaying this, who are continuing to exercise as usual or stay out in the sun,” France’s health minister, Agnès Buzyn, said in a statement at the time. “This affects all of us.”