Temperature records fall as Western Europe swelters under intense heat wave

Drownings reported in Britain and France as people try to cool down

The U.K. smashed a century-old temperature record for the second time in 24 hours on Tuesday as a spring heat wave continued to scorch parts of Western Europe, triggering government warnings about risks to life.

A temperature of 35 C was recorded at London's Kew Gardens and Heathrow Airport, Britain's Met Office weather service said, breaking the 34.8 C record set a day earlier at Kew. The provisional readings smashed the long-standing record of 32.8 C set in 1922 and matched in 1944.

London also recorded a rare "tropical night," defined as one in which the temperature does not fall below 20 C.

Records also fell in France, where temperatures reached 36 C on Monday in the country's southwest and widely remained above 20 C at night.

Several drownings were reported in Britain and France as people tried to cool down.

The national weather service, Meteo-France, said a "heat dome," with heat held in place by a high-pressure weather front, was producing temperatures more than 10 degrees above what used to be usual for this time of year.

Unpredictable and extreme weather are becoming more frequent as Earth's warming builds. Experts say unprecedented and deadly weather extremes that sometimes strike at abnormal times and in unusual places are putting more people in danger.

"We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that heat wave events such as this have been made more likely and more severe due to climate change arising from our emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases," said Peter Thorne, director of the ICARUS Climate Research Centre at Maynooth University in Ireland. "But, nevertheless, many of the records being set, particularly in the U.K. and France, are mind-bogglingly crazy."

London residents try to stay cool as record-breaking heat wave grips U.K.

After a U.K. long weekend that sent people flocking to beaches, pools and shady parks, London commuters sweltered on Tuesday in subway carriages without air conditioning. Trains to and from the busy Waterloo station were disrupted by a report of smoke on the tracks.

In Scotland, firefighters worked through the night to douse a grass fire that sent smoke billowing from Arthur's Seat, the rocky hill that looms over Edinburgh.

The U.K. Health Security Agency issued an amber health alert for large parts of the country through Thursday, warning of a potential health risk, particularly among older people, at the hottest times of the day. The U.K. is used to moderate temperatures, and many homes, schools and businesses do not have air conditioning.

At least three teenagers died in apparent drownings in U.K. lakes and reservoirs, and a 60-year-old man died in the sea in southwest England, authorities said.

French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said there have been reports of at least seven deaths potentially related to high temperatures, including five drownings and two deaths in sports competitions.

The early heat wave has struck before the annual summer window when lifeguards watch over bathers at popular beaches, increasing risks.

On France's Atlantic seaboard, where magnificent beaches have powerful riptides, officials reported a rash of emergencies in the surf, with two drowning deaths on Sunday at popular resorts in the Gironde region in the southwest.

The top regional administrator, Sophie Brocas, urged beachgoers "to exercise the utmost caution."

The unseasonable heat extended to Spain, where weather service spokesperson Ruben del Campo said "we find ourselves with temperatures we normally see in the middle of the summer now in the month of May."

He said Seville hit 38 C over the weekend, while large parts of the Iberian Peninsula saw temperatures five to 10 degrees higher than normal.

And in Rome, temperatures were expected to reach 32 C on Tuesday.