Yahoo – AFP,
Stuart WILLIAMS, July 25, 2019
 |
In the sweltering French capital, tourists and locals alike made a beeline for
fountains (AFP Photo/Bertrand GUAY) |
Paris (AFP)
- Paris on Thursday baked in an all-time high temperature of 42.6 degrees
Celsius (108.7 Fahrenheit) as a ferocious heatwave smashed records across
northern Europe, sparking concerns about public health and causing new misery
for rail travellers.
As records
also tumbled in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, Paris beat the previous
top of 40.4C set in July 1947.
Trains have
been slowed in several European countries to avoid damage to the railway
networks. French national operator SNCF urged travellers to delay journeys
planned for Thursday, while German railway company Deutsche Bahn offered
travellers a chance to change tickets free of charge.
In the
sweltering French capital, authorities warned people to keep an eye on those
living alone.
At the same
time, the scorching weather spelled misery for millions of commuters on public
transport.
"It's
so hot in the metro, it's unbearable. There are so many people, no air
conditioning and everyone is on top of one other," said Paris commuter
Petra Ulm, 34, a clinical researcher.
The
heatwave, which was expected to ease up on Friday as rain and thunderstorms
move in, again focused public attention on the problems caused by climate
change.
 |
The heatwave, which is
expected to ease up on Friday as rain and thunderstorms
move in, re-focused
public attention on the problems caused by climate change
(AFP Photo/LOIC
VENANCE)
|
'Great
day on the beach'
In Britain,
temperatures reached 38.1C in Cambridge, only the second time temperatures over
100 Fahrenheit have been recorded in the UK, weather services said. It was
still below the UK's all-time high of 38.5C.
Those lucky
enough to be by the sea could still enjoy the weather.
"It's
obviously not so good for some people, but if you've got the day off and young
kids then it's great for a day on the beach," said Graham Clarke, 50, an
insurance agent, enjoying the sands of Broadstairs in southeast England.
In the
Netherlands, a new high Thursday of 40.4C in the south broke a record dating
back to 1944.
In
Amsterdam, crowds jumped into a central square fountain, while municipal
workers sprayed water on bridges over the city's famed canals to stop metal
structures deforming in the heat.
"I'm
just trying not to move too much," said Serona Methorst, a 19-year-old
Dutch student sitting under a tree with friends. "We are so used to a
colder climate, people are really disturbed by this weather."
In the
centre of the country, Dutch police jokingly urged criminals not to plan any
heists during the heatwave.
"It's
tough to work now, not just for you but also for us," the police posted in
a Facebook message. "Stay at home, turn on the air-conditioning."
 |
Even the
animals like baby elephant Ben Long needed to take a cooling dip
at the zoo in
Leipzig in eastern Germany (AFP Photo/Jens Kalaene)
|
On Thursday,
Germany again hit a national record of 41.5 C in Lingen, western Germany.
The Grohnde
nuclear plant in western Germany will temporarily shut down on Friday as a way
to protect the environment, its operator said. Water used to cool the reactor
is poured back into rivers and the shutdown is meant to protect already
overheated river ecosystems.
Belgium on
Thursday also reached a new record high of 40.6 degrees Celsius, on the
Kleine-Brogel military base, in northeastern Belgium.
Two
suspected drug smugglers had to call police in the Belgian port city of Antwerp
after becoming trapped in a shipping container filled with cocaine, prosecutors
said.
Train
disruptions
Eurostar
and Thalys rail services from Brussels to London and Paris also experienced major
delays and cancellations after a cable failure the day earlier.
"I ask
everyone who can avoid or delay their journeys to do so," said French
Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne, advising workers who could do their jobs
at home not to go to their offices.
The
northern third of France, including Paris, was under a red alert while the rest
of the country had a yellow warning and water-use restrictions were in force.
In Austria,
a three-year-old child died of dehydration after falling asleep in a car parked
in full sunshine at the family farm, local authorities said.
 |
Advice on
avoiding heatstroke and dehydration in a heatwave. (AFP Photo/
Sophie
RAMIS)
|
'Look
after others'
France
remains haunted by the early summer of 2003 when 15,000 deaths were blamed on
the heat and the authorities were hit for not mobilising fast enough.
"We
need to take care of ourselves but above all others, especially those who are
alone, and be able to detect the first symptoms of heatstroke," said Prime
Minister Edouard Philippe.
Local
authorities have placed restrictions on water usage in many areas due to
drought-like conditions that have seen ground and river water levels fall
dramatically.
A June
26-28 blast of heat in France was four degrees Celsius hotter than an equally
rare June heatwave would have been in 1900, the World Weather Attribution (WWA)
said this month.
One study
by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology said the deadly weeks-long
heatwave across northern Europe in 2018 would have been statistically impossible
without climate change.
Related Article:
(Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)
“… The Weather
Let's talk about the weather. We retreat to exactly what we told you before in this very chair. The water cycle is a cooling cycle, not a heating cycle. You're going to have more severe winters and storms. It's going to get colder. But it gets warmer before it gets colder. That is the cycle, and it has always been the cycle. You can see it in the rings of the trees and the cores of the ice. Don't let your scientists pull the political wool over your eyes for their own purposes. Start seeing these things for what they are. It's a recurring cycle based on four Earth alignment attributes, including the wobble (the precession). You're in this cycle. Prepare.
The beginnings of it will be with you from now at least until the end of the 2012 36-year window, and you can watch it work. The first thing that happens is that the ice melts at the poles, but not completely. It's the way it has happened before. As the redistribution of weight from the poles to the oceans of the earth takes place, the weight is redistributed to the crust, and that creates earthquakes. And the earthquakes that will be the most powerful are the ones that are closest to the poles. We told you that some time ago. So it's not a mystery that suddenly you have some of the most powerful earthquakes that you've ever had. Not only that, but a cooling ocean creates larger storms.
What do the conspiracists do with all this? "See? We're doomed. Here it comes," they say. "Here it comes! The end is here!" Twenty-two years ago, we gave you the information that is happening today. We told you about the weather. We told you to get ready for it, but we still haven't told you why the water cycle is needed. We've hinted at it since it is very controversial, and we'll lose many readers right here and now. Here's the prediction: The scientists are going to laugh and biologists are going to scratch their heads and roll their eyes.
The Refreshing of the Cycle of Life
When you change the temperature of the waters of the planet, it changes the life cycle of the ocean and it eventually renews itself. The life cycle of the planet has a limit to its viability over time. There has to be a refreshing of the very cycle of life, and this is what the water cycle does. Are there any places you've seen too many fish lately? Yes. Millions of salmon in the north. Odd that it was in Alaska, isn't it? Alaska is very close to the poles where the water temperature is being felt first. Oh, again the experts will tell you that this is not the reason. It's about hatcheries and rivers. But nobody predicted this, did they? Science is fast to give you reasons, but slow to give you logic in advance. They always seem to be surprised.
We are saying things we haven't said before. Again, watch for this, an actual change in the life cycle of the planet's oceans because of the water temperature shift. Biologists are going to have to start redesigning the paradigm of how everything works, including reefs, ocean bottoms, and how plankton survive and reproduce. Listen, this is not the first time that the life cycle has been refreshed! But again, this may take generations of humanity to complete. In the process, you may again lose species. This is normal. Gaia is slow, and Humans are impatient. Your textbooks may someday tell of how naive humanity was back in 2011 when they tried to blame weather changes on everything but a natural cycle. Now you know why there is a water cycle.
So what does that tell you about Gaia? Gaia is beginning the cycle of refreshing life on over-fished oceans. It tells you that in the cracks, there is love and caring about the Humans who live on the earth. There's a reason you're here. There's a plan here, and a benevolent Universe and quantum energy with intelligent design. All is there for you, precious, sacred Human Being. …”
