Europe swelters in latest wave of extreme heat

UK records its hottest day of the year as the temperature in west London reaches 38.1 degrees Celsius.Millions of people across Europe, including in France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are sweltering through another wave of extreme temperatures as the continent’s latest Heatwave intensifies.Weather agencies recorded temperatures of above 35C (95F) in several European countries on Thursday, where more than 135 million people had been forecast to endure more scorching weather.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3More than 135 million people in Europe face temperatures over 35Clist 2 of 3‘We harvested more than half the winter wheat crop before the end of July’list 3 of 3Europe braces for another Heatwave after record-breaking temperaturesend of listThe UK recorded its hottest day of the year as the temperature in west London soared to 38.1C (100.5F), surpassing the previous high of 38C (100.4F) in June.Europe is the planet’s fastest-warming continent and in some places, is ill-equipped to deal with hot weather.A series of heatwaves and drought have fuelled a summer of wildfires and been linked to thousands of deaths so far.Scientists blame ever hotter and more frequent heatwaves on Climate Change caused by human activity.Nurses, patients suffer in UKIn Britain, nurses have collapsed from heat exhaustion while working in hospitals that lack adequate cooling, the Royal College of Nursing said on Thursday.“The heat has been unbearable here, honestly,” pharmacist Bailey Williamson told the AFP news agency. Patients in hospital were also hard-hit, said NHS worker Williamson.“People in beds are really, really sick and they can’t even breathe because of the heat problem – so it’s really bad.”Hospitals had recorded an increase in heatstroke cases and the NHS was struggling to keep up, he added.“It’s scary, it’s scary,” Williamson said of the summer’s heatwaves. “I think it’s a real sign about how bad Climate Change has really got.”