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Europe’s Cities Weren’t Built for This Kind of Heat

A record-breaking heat wave across London, Paris, and Amsterdam is signaling an urgent need for design and cultural changes to combat climate change.
A man cools off in a fountain in Brussels, where temperatures today approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
A man cools off in a fountain in Brussels, where temperatures today approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit.Yves Herman/Reuters

For anyone worried about global warming, this week’s weather reports in Northern Europe will only further that anxiety.

Paris recorded its highest temperature ever at 1:42 p.m. Thursday, reaching 41 degrees Celsius, or 106 Fahrenheit. Further north, London may also break past records by reaching 39 Celsius (102 Fahrenheit), while Germany recorded its highest-ever temperature of 40.5 Celsius (105 Fahrenheit). All of this is coming on the heels of a June heat wave that broke previous record highs for that month in seven countries.