PARIS -- Temperature records in Europe that had stood for decades or even just hours fell minute by minute Thursday afternoon, and Europeans and tourists alike jumped into fountains, lakes, rivers or the sea to escape a suffocating heat wave rising up from the Sahara.
It was nearly impossible to keep up with the falling records as temperatures climbed higher and higher under a brutal sun -- in Paris and London, in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands -- all places where air conditioning is not typically installed in homes, cafes or stores. Even office air conditioning systems strained under the hot, dry air that was trapped between two stormy weather systems.
Climate scientists warned these types of heat waves could become the new normal, but they loom as a challenge for temperate Europe. As emissions keep warming the planet, scientists say there will be more and hotter heat waves, although it's too early to know whether this specific hot spell is linked to man-made climate change.
"There is likely the DNA of climate change in the record-breaking heat that Europe and other parts of the world are experiencing. And it is unfortunately going to continue to worsen," said Marshall Shepherd, professor of meteorology at the University of Georgia.
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Electric fans sold out across Paris, and traditional folding fans made a comeback on the city's stuffy Metro. Trains were canceled in Britain and France, with authorities in both nations urging travelers to stay home. Messages to "Hydrate yourselves!" blared from the radio and TV, and water bottles were handed out.
France's heat alert system went to its maximum level, red, for the first time during last month's heat wave when France had its highest-ever recorded temperature of 114.8 degrees Fahrenheit. On Thursday, about one-fifth of French territory was under a red alert, stretching from the English Channel through the Paris region and down to Burgundy, affecting at least 20 million people.
French authorities have been particularly wary since a 2003 heat wave killed nearly 15,000 people, many of them elderly and stuck alone in stiflingly hot apartments.
"The science behind heat wave attribution is very robust -- the first extreme weather event to be definitively linked to global warming was the 2003 European heat wave," said NASA climate scientist Kate Marvel. "We know that as the climate warms, heat waves become more likely and more severe."
As tourists frolicked in fountains, authorities and volunteers in Paris and London fanned out to help the elderly, the sick and the homeless, opening cooling centers to let people rest, recover or shower.
The heat was felt throughout Europe.
The Paris area hit 108.7 degrees, beating the previous record of 104.7 degrees set in 1947.
The Netherlands' meteorological institute announced a record that beat the previous record set just a day before: 105.3 degrees in the Gilze Rijen municipality near the Belgian border.
Belgium hit all-time records twice in the day, rising to 105.3 degrees in the western town of Beitem. "This is the highest recorded temperature for Belgium in history since the beginning of the measurements in 1833," said Alex Dewalque of the country's Royal Meteorological Institute.
The northern German town of Lingen set a new national temperature record at least three times Thursday, finally hitting 108.7 degrees. Those repeated records came after the country had set a national record Wednesday of 104.9 degrees in Geilenkirchen near the Belgian border.
London recorded its hottest day on record for July, with the mercury climbing to 98.4 degrees at Heathrow Airport. The previous July record was 98 degrees in 2015.
In Austria, a 2-year-old died of dehydration Wednesday in the country's Styria region after he climbed into an overheated parked car without his family noticing.
As intense as it was, the heat in Europe is expected to be short, with temperatures forecast to drop today and Saturday.
Information for this article was contributed by Deborah Gouffran, Mike Corder, Bishr Eltouni, Raf Casert, Daniel Niemann, Danica Kirka and Seth Borenstein of The Associated Press.
A Section on 07/26/2019