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Europe is sweltering under record-breaking temperatures this week as a heatwave, caused by a giant bubble of warm air from the Sahara, wreaks havoc across the continent. Temperatures have reached as high as 43 degrees Celsius (110F) in France, leading to deaths and catastrophic crop failures.

For those of you from hotter climates, at the ready with your "meh, that's just a normal day here" comments, remember, Europe is not used to these kinds of extreme weather conditions! Houses are insulated against the winter cold, and air conditioning is rare. It hit almost 40C in Poland for goodness sake. Poland. This is not a country you would usually associate with such summer heat!

Europeans are dealing with the hot summer temperatures in a variety of ways, from the typical deadpan humor to more practical solutions. Scroll down to check out the reactions for yourself, and if you're in Europe right now, keep yourself and your animals cool and safe!

Statistics show that heat waves like this are becoming more frequent due to climate change, and are something that Europeans are likely going to have to get used to. “Monthly heat records all over the globe occur five times as often today as they would in a stable climate.” Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research told AP.

"This increase in heat extremes is just as predicted by climate science as a consequence of global warming caused by the increasing greenhouse gases from burning coal, oil and gas.”



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Europe-Hot-Weather-Summer-Heatwave-2019

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Best Finnish Potatoe
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4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I live in France. I'm dying from the heat. If you wonder why is there a 😱 face, it's our face currently due to the climate. Edit: Thanks for the upvotes, I never got so much! 😄

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The controlling force of the weather is the Jet Stream, a fast-flowing wind-river that loops around the northern hemisphere at a height of 10 kilometres. The Jet Stream's behavior is linked to Arctic ice cover, which has decreased in recent years.

"The forecast from climate change models and the actuality of the last few years has shown a change to this Jet Stream," Al Jazeera's Rob McElwee said.

"It now has much greater loops, draped over North America and Eurasia, whereas a tighter, straighter flow used to be the norm. A looped Jet Stream induces long-lasting, low-pressure circulations and high-pressure domes," he added. 

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Such a set-up has drawn air up from North Africa, in a southerly breeze, to cover Western Europe. Over the coming days the hot weather will be increasingly confined to France, Italy and Spain as a cooler breeze flows across northern and central Europe.

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Dim Coumou, a scientist at the Free University of Amsterdam, also said that melting Arctic sea ice is affecting atmospheric circulation, which in turn makes extreme weather more likely.

“Data analysis shows that the normally eastward travelling summer circulation of the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes has slowed down, including the Jet Stream,” he said. “This favors the buildup of hot and dry conditions over the continent, sometimes turning a few sunny days into dangerous heat waves.”

Heatwaves can become really dangerous when they take place in early summer. Europe's 2003 heatwave resulted in the deaths of an estimated 70,000 people, let's hope that this year people are better prepared for the incoming inferno.

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Dynein
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But your flora and fauna is probably better equipped to deal with it... :(

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Dynein
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Edit: And on top of that, in many places here it's not the norm to have air-conditioning at home! We make do with opening the windows at night and drawing the curtains/closing the shutters during the day.

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Shana
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4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's so stupid that people keep saying stuff like this. "But it's always hot in x and y." Yeah it is but they're better equipped for it and used it and it's just different? In the Scandinavian countries they can deal with meters of snow, yet another country would just shut down if it would snow that much. Just like +30degrees (celcius) might be a regular temperature in some places, it's wrecking in another.

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Merlyn Emrys
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Poeple whose bodies are not acclimated and homes are not designed to deal with heat can DIE of it.

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Martha Meyer
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unlike Texans, we don't have airconditioning everywhere though.

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Eva Dukes
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would also like to add to the point that only newer cars have air-conditioning and only knew a building survey air-conditioning and the UK and Europe are full of old buildings with no air-conditioning nobody that I know I’ve ever known has ever had air-conditioning in the house and we’ve got temperatures of 42+

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Laugh Fan
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thankfully I have air con - have done for a few years in my bedroom. It is worth doing if you can afford it and have a building that you're allowed to fit it to. I will be spending today in the one room with my dogs!

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Ms Phit
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I live in the Arizona desert, am very habituated to heat. We are currently in Italy (husband is Italian) and I can attest that this heat PLUS humidity is absolutely intolerable. As bad as it feels inTucson at 116degrees (F)! I'm grateful that we were able to escape our house in Florence and go to a little cottage on a lake ( where it's still hot as hades but we are pretending to be hippopotamuses... https://www.instagram.com/p/BzQ_U_zhwzQ/?igshid=xlhz4dm32wgf

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Lisa J
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not all of us Texans are asshats, like Californian James Franco, we can't survive without central air/heat or window units. It's awful and we b***h/moan about it even with a/c. It's a focal point of many a daily conversation, especially in customer service. Also Europe isn't reliant on central/window a/c.

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Angi Jiles
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And this has been a mild summer in Tx so far. We still haven't reached 100°F this year in Austin.

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Eva Dukes
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly and all your plants and trees are used to that type of heat last year in the UK it was so hot for so long with so little rain that a lot of the trees died and dropped the leaves and all the grass shrivelled up and died and blue in the wind there was no flowers can you imagine the catastrophic consequences this has on the wildlife and the insects

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Jessica Dent
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lol hi from Canada where we either freeze of burn there's no in between

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Twenty øne doggos
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to live in Texas, now I live in a very humid place. I can deal with the heat OK, but the humidity is unbearable.

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Monika Soffronow
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well ... "The highest temperature on record in San Antonio, Texas, is 111°F (43.9°C), set on September 5, 2000," So much for that. https://www.weather-us.com/en/texas-usa/san-antonio-climate

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Rinpai
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sure. Thats only about 1 city though. Texas is huge, and has had higher temps than that.

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Risa Jackson
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lol... Yes. As someone in South Texas, yes. However, after awhile, I realized we have a/c everywhere and Europeans probably don't. So I imagined a Texas Summer with no a/c and I almost cried.

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Ruth oro
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I live in Texas and have lived here my whole life , we are not used to it and it still sucks every summer , but I see your point as we know to expect it every year

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Kim
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah but try to imagine a summer like that with no AC. Not just just no AC at home, no AC at secondary schools. A classroom full of teens when it hits above 35 degrees celcius? Now that will seriously deprive a teacher of the will to work (or simply be present). Add to that the fact I'm pregnant. Also, your school are out when the worst of it starts. We're still going for three more weeks.

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Ava Ford
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dude when you go outside for 30 mins like me and get heat stroke

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GFSTaylor
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Texas is much further south than most of Europe. Paris is as far north as the border between the USA and Canada. London is further north than Montreal.

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Procrastinating Panda
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

watched this movie yesterday, could almost hear his voice saying this words

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Linda Robinett
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to live in a place in California that regularly got above 105 Fahrenheit. But we had swamp coolers or refrigeration type. Our roads, also did not melt.

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Sasha Taylor
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly!!!.....or Australia....checking the temp for the heatwave and I'm like well?? You call that a heatwave? Never come to Australia in summer!

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Jolee Koop
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I live in Dresden, but am from Texas. Basically, I'm out here going "Guys, it's not that bad." while they seek shade and excuses not to leave an air-conditioned building.

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carameltart1011
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4 years ago

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Same goes for Australia, I'm like 44 degrees celcius? Ha, down here it's 45 degrees is a NORMAL summer!!

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N G
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, European roads are made from Tarmac, and it gets sticky and melts if the weather is too hot

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Olivier van Remoortel
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Our cats saw this and liked your suggestion for a bird trap. They're trying to push their water bowl to the balcony now :-)

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Vicky Zar
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Poles? Is that the correct word? Never thought about it. Sounds ... strange

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Foxxy
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As an Australian most of this advice is good BUT you should reapply sunscreen every 2 hours on scorching days. Always better to be safe than sorry. This is the best motto Slip, slop, slap, seek and slide. Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek shade and slide on sunnies. It’s a simple as that.

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Tessa
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Berlin and around are so many awesome lakes. Why go to over crowded swimming pool?

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30 Reactions Europeans Had To The Record-Breaking Heatwave

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Magpie
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The feet in bucket thing is really helpful. Just keep checking and change the water when it gets too hot.

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Mewton’s Third Paw
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well then moving forward the stores need to change their setup or this is just going to get worse every year and her worry will be justified. They should expand that section.

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