Swathes of Western Europe wilted under intense heat Friday, with socially-distanced crowds seeking relief in fountains and pools as authorities warned of health and wildfire risks.
The dry spell is over – for now. After sweltering temperatures that topped 42C last week, the country is dealing with thunderstorms, high winds, heavy rain and hailstones.
Germany has recorded its hottest ever temperature just a few hours after record-breaking highs, according to preliminary results of the weather service.
Open-air swimming pools offer relief to the sweltering heat. But they are increasingly becoming “aggressive” places, pool bosses say, with the latest row involving hundreds of people in Düsseldorf.
A welcome dip in temperatures came to parts of Europe on Sunday, bringing relief to areas which have roasted through a widespread, deadly heatwave for nearly a week.
Germany experienced temperatures more than four degrees higher in June than the average during an international reference period for tracking climate change, the national weather service said Friday.
A total of 38 swimmers – many of them children – suffered injuries due to an increased chlorine concentration at a swimming pool in Hesse, north of Frankfurt.
With temperatures up to 40C forecast, officials have placed speed limits on sections of Germany's famous Autobahn network over concerns the road could buckle in the heat.
After temperatures dipped across Germany in recent days, the heatwave is set to make a brief return on Thursday, with highs of above 30 degrees across the country.
After weeks of extreme heat and debilitating drought, the heatwave appears to have broken over the centre of Germany, as Hesse was hit by torrential rains on Tuesday night.
Temperatures cooled somewhat in parts of the country on Sunday, but meteorologists predict that the sun is going to beat down on the country for much of the week.
