LONDON (AP) — Much of western Europe has been baking under a “heat dome” this week, with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many places. The extreme conditions have come in June, earlier in the summer than is usual. Records are tumbling by day and by night. Add in the humidity and it’s more tropical than temperate.The heat is coming up from north Africa and affecting Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the U.K. — most of them without widespread air conditioning and unused to such oppressive heat. Conditions are expected to ease in coming days, though July and August, the traditional height of the European summer, are still to come.Here are some standout numbers that illustrate the depth and breadth of the heat wave:___43.8 C (110.8 F) The hottest temperature in France this week, recorded in the small southwestern town of Pissos on Wednesday.
30 C (86F) The average temperature measured at 30 French weather stations by the Meteo France weather agency on Wednesday. The agency said it was the first time ever the average has been that high, making Wednesday the hottest day in France ever. While the figure may seem low, it was measured day and night and shows this latest heat wave is much broader than others before. More than three-quarters of France have been placed under a red weather alert for the first time ever.
