Journalists from The Guardian spoke with locals and tourists in Madrid, Paris, London, Dublin, and Berlin, who shared their experiences of record-breaking temperatures and unbearable heat recorded in May.
Read more Gold fever in New York – ticket prices for the NBA finals are breaking records
In recent days, temperatures have soared in some parts of Europe, heat records have been broken, and spring has felt more like the height of summer.
France’s national meteorological service Météo France explained that this is due to a so-called heat dome, where heat is trapped by a high-pressure air front, causing temperatures to rise more than 10 degrees Celsius above what is usual for this time of year.
Madrid, Spain
On Tuesday, over Madrid’s Plaza Mayor square, where there were almost no clouds, flying swallows seemed to be the only living creatures unaffected by the unusually high temperature.
Below them, groups of tourists moved sluggishly across the square, and waiters nervously bustled around freshly set tables.
Jim, a traveler from Sydney, spoke on behalf of most of his companions when asked how he and his wife Marina were coping with the May heatwave.
“It’s completely not the temperatures we expected,” he said. “We brought clothes for cooler weather.”
Although the couple is used to heat in Australia, they were surprised by how unbearable it is in Europe.
Paula and Jonathan Diamond from the United Kingdom were glad to be in Spain rather than England, where temperatures were several degrees higher.
“It’s better here than at home because the hotel has air conditioning,” Paula stated.
The prospect of staying in a room with air conditioning would have been especially tempting for Fabricio Deza, who stood in the center of the square, hidden under many layers of a King Kong costume topped with a Real Madrid outfit, waiting for tourists willing to pay for a photo opportunity with him.
A man selling lottery tickets in another Madrid square admitted he spends about 10 hours a day there.
“You can drink water and pour it on your face, but the heat just doesn’t end. And it seems to come earlier and earlier every year,” he noted.
Paris, France
“The heat is terrible,” complained 21-year-old Darcey, describing the unbearable temperature in her small top-floor apartment in Paris.
“It can be so hot that you almost fear going outside, and under the roof it’s unbearably stuffy,” she added.
Nearby, a group of high school students ate sandwiches on the grass two weeks before their final exams.
“We can’t sleep at night, it’s hard to study, and there’s no air conditioning or fans at school. It’s quite tough,” said one 17-year-old.
Read more The chip manufacturing giant «Nvidia» is preparing a hundred-billion expansion in Taiwan
Solène, a Paris guide with 12 years of experience, was showing a retired couple from Chicago around shady spots in the city.
“Since I know what efforts Paris is making by planting trees and cooling certain areas, I adapt my tours,” she said.
London, United Kingdom
When Cameron and Autumn, a couple from New Jersey, arrived in London last week, the temperature was 14 degrees. By Tuesday, it had nearly doubled, reaching 34 degrees Celsius.
“We knew it would start a bit cold, but every day when we checked the forecast, the degrees kept rising and rising,” said 19-year-old musician Autumn. She described such weather as “shocking.”
Her boyfriend, 20-year-old Cameron, was in London during the 2022 heatwaves and thinks “we’ll have another one soon.”
“It’s getting hotter and it doesn’t stop,” he said. “It seems like England breaks a new heat record every year – it’s not normal.”
Dublin, Ireland
40-year-old Manal Yousseff arrived this week from Egypt prepared for Irish weather – with a raincoat, winter coat, and warm hat – but realized the weather in Ireland is not quite as described.
“I didn’t bring any summer clothes. I expected it to be windy and wet. I didn’t expect this,” she said, pointing to swimmers and sunbathers in south Dublin.
Her husband, 41-year-old Dash Abdelaal, who lives in Dublin, said he worries about the climate crisis but is happy to see blue skies: “We don’t see that often in Ireland. Usually, the sky is gray and cloudy.”
47-year-old Miguel Avendano, a language student from Mexico, enjoyed the warmth – a new May temperature record of 29.7 °C was set on Tuesday, a day after the previous record – but said he wouldn’t be afraid of cold or rain either.
“I can’t control the climate, so I accept it.”
Berlin, Germany
“We don’t associate Berlin with heat,” said 29-year-old Peruvian Maria-Jose Gomez, who met friends on Tuesday in front of Strandbad Wannsee – a large open and long sandy beach located in the westernmost suburb of Germany’s capital.
“We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the city has its own beach, which is perfect for the current conditions,” she noted.
Germany was only on the edge of the heat dome covering part of Europe, but many Berliners and visitors still rush to the beach seeking relief from the unusual heat.
“Last night I slept with the windows open and it was a bit uncomfortable,” said 17-year-old Selina, who was at the beach with her friend Betül. “Today we decided to come here and cool off.”
The girl often spent her summer holidays in Kuşadası, on Turkey’s western Aegean coast, “and it’s only 28 degrees there today,” she added.
Betül’s family is from Mersin, southern Turkey, “where it’s only 26 degrees now.”
“Today we closed our eyes lying on towels in the sand and thought: we could be in Turkey right now,” she said.
Read more Migration Department: residents can check if there have been logins to their personal accounts
