Hit by a so-called "heat dome" of warm air from northern Africa that is pushing the mercury well above normal levels for May, some Europeans even admitted they were considering getting air conditioning, in a region famously averse.Baking in a bright London sun, 47-year-old Gurjit Gill, who works in banking, said he was happy to be going into work -- because of the air con."I'm thinking about actually maybe getting an AC unit, because the bedrooms at nighttime are quite unbearable," he told AFP.People across western Europe swarmed beaches, braved the streets clutching handheld fans and umbrellas to fend off the sun, and went for a dip or splashed themselves wherever they could -- including Rome's Barcaccia fountain and the bubblers in the Jardin du Palais Royal in Paris.
Public fountains were popular for trying to cool down © Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP
The UK reported its hottest-ever day for May, at 35.1C at Kew Gardens, in southwest London -- breaking a record of 34.8C set at the same location Monday -- as a high-pressure system trapped warm air over western Europe.In France, which also logged its hottest-ever May day Monday and then again on Tuesday, the weather agency said the heatwave could last through the week, predicting temperatures could go as high as 39C in some areas.OverheatedScientists say human-driven climate change is amplifying such extremes, with weather events like heatwaves, droughts and floods becoming more intense and frequent.
