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Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
And the funny thing is that if you ask if a hotel has a/c, they'll
*still* say it never gets hot here.... http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...rope_heat_wave Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat Tue Aug 5, 2:38 AM ET By PAMELA SAMPSON, Associated Press Writer PARIS - A heat wave smothering parts of Europe forced French authorities to spray down the walls of a nuclear reactor with water and led British rail operators to halt some trains for fear the tracks would buckle. Much of France has been sweltering for weeks, with temperatures reaching 106 in southwestern Bordeaux on June 21 and then again on Monday in Castelsarrazin in southwest France. But the worst may be yet to come. It's been one of Europe's worst heat waves and dry spells in years. Authorities on the Iberian peninsula scrambled to put out stubborn, deadly forest fires, but officials said the worst could be yet to come. "The coming days could approach or beat this maximum," said Dominique Escale of Meteo France, the French national weather service (news - web sites). "This is a very, very hot summer." Temperatures in Paris, which averages 75 in August, reached 98.6 on Monday. In eastern France, technicians tried spraying the inner walls of a structure housing a nuclear reactor with cold water. They were trying to figure out if the technique helped lower the temperature inside the structure, which houses one of two reactors at the plant in Fessenheim, on France's border with Germany. "The idea is to wet the reactor walls on the side that's most exposed to sunlight," said Joseph Sanchez, the plant's assistant director. "We can't say if it works yet." Temperatures at the plant rose to 119, two degrees short of the point requiring an emergency shutdown. Utility officials say the weather poses no danger to the operation of the plant, which can withstand much higher temperatures. "Nothing would probably happen even at 100 or 150 degrees (Celsius)," said Anne Laszlo, a spokeswoman for Electricite de France. German power provider E.On said Monday that two nuclear power plants have reduced output by up to 50 percent over the last few weeks because of high temperatures. The plants, in central and southern Germany, do not have cooling towers that lower river water temperature before it is used. The German Weather Service said daytime temperatures could go as high as 104 on Wednesday in parts of the south, which would be just short of the record of 104.4 set in 1983. German authorities said that ozone levels were reaching critical levels and advised Germans to restrict any strenuous exercise to the morning hours. Ozone can build to dangerous levels on hot, sunny summer days when sunlight bakes emissions from cars and power plants, causing a chemical reaction that forms ground-level ozone. High ozone levels can exacerbate problems for people with breathing and heart ailments. Weather forecasters in Britain said that the all-time British high of 98.8, set in 1990, could fall in the coming days. "It's possible that on Wednesday we could have the highest temperature ever recorded in Britain," said Elizabeth Anett of Press Association's WeatherCenter. "It's going to be incredibly hot." The heat forced train operators to impose speed restrictions on some lines Monday because high temperatures can cause rails to buckle. Train travel within London, and from the capital to Birmingham in central England, were among the routes affected. Forest and brush fires fanned by heat, high winds and drought in France, Spain and Portugal have killed more than a dozen people. The Portuguese government declared a state of disaster Monday, while 3,000 firefighters struggled to contain the country's worst forest fires in decades. At least nine people there have died. Forest fires in the foothills of the French Riviera last week killed four people, and another man died on the French island of Corsica when he tried to put out a fire on his property. In Spain, firefighters have been battling intense fires since Thursday. The Spanish National Weather Service said Monday the heat wave was the worst since 1995 and was likely to continue all week. Seven deaths have been blamed on the heat, all in southern Andalusia. The highest recorded temperature in Spain was 114.4 over the weekend, at the airport in Cordoba. Even Finland, the European Union (news - web sites)'s northernmost country, was not spared some discomfort. This summer's record temperature was 92, approaching the hottest-ever recorded temperature of 96.6 set in 1914. A country of thousands of lakes, Finland also saw a spike in the number of people who drowned  at least 45  during the heat wave, which lasted 26 days in some areas. |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
Following up to grey
>And the funny thing is that if you ask if a hotel has a/c, they'll >*still* say it never gets hot here.... only if they don't have air con. -- Mike Reid "Art is the lie that reveals the truth" P.Picasso UK walking "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" (see web for email) Spain,cuisines and walking "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
On Wed, 06 Aug 2003 09:49:23 +0100, The Reid
<[email protected]> wrote: >Following up to grey >>And the funny thing is that if you ask if a hotel has a/c, they'll >>*still* say it never gets hot here.... >only if they don't have air con. Heh. Wish that were true--too often, I've run into "Euro air conditioning" on really hot days/nights--the kind where you have to hold up a feather before the vent to see if it's on... But the climate does seem to be changing, and a lot more people are getting serious about a/c in Europe where you never saw that before... |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
Following up to grey
>But the climate does seem to be changing, and a lot more people are >getting serious about a/c in Europe where you never saw that before... when Europe is as hot as the US you will see as much aircon. -- Mike Reid "Art is the lie that reveals the truth" P.Picasso UK walking "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" (see web for email) Spain,cuisines and walking "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
grey writes:
> Heh. Wish that were true--too often, I've run into "Euro air > conditioning" on really hot days/nights--the kind where you have to > hold up a feather before the vent to see if it's on... That's another bizarre thing about Europeans: Sometimes they install air conditioning, but they never, ever turn it on. It's just never "hot enough" to justify that decadence. Even on sweltering days, you walk into stores and restaurants that clearly have air conditioning installed (I can spot the telltale signs of central air a kilometre away), but don't have it running. > But the climate does seem to be changing, and a lot more people are > getting serious about a/c in Europe where you never saw that before... Good. (Good that they are taking A/C seriously, not good that it's getting so hot.) -- Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
The Reid writes:
> when Europe is as hot as the US you will see as much aircon. Paris was as hot as Las Vegas today. -- Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
In article <[email protected]>, Mxsmanic
<[email protected]> writes >That's another bizarre thing about Europeans: Heaven alone knows why you choose to live there: you do little but criticise the native inhabitants. -- Marie Lewis |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
On Wed, 06 Aug 2003 22:19:47 +0200, Mxsmanic <[email protected]>
wrote: >grey writes: >> Heh. Wish that were true--too often, I've run into "Euro air >> conditioning" on really hot days/nights--the kind where you have to >> hold up a feather before the vent to see if it's on... >That's another bizarre thing about Europeans: Sometimes they install >air conditioning, but they never, ever turn it on. It's just never "hot >enough" to justify that decadence. Even on sweltering days, you walk >into stores and restaurants that clearly have air conditioning installed >(I can spot the telltale signs of central air a kilometre away), but >don't have it running. Odd the one thing I find about shops in England in hot weather, is how cold they are, they're too cold to spend any time in, the aircon is turned up to high, they'd be fine if I was dressed for autumn, but dressed for hot weather I just shiver. Jim. |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
Jim Ley <[email protected]> wrote:
> Odd the one thing I find about shops in England in hot weather, is how > cold they are, they're too cold to spend any time in, the aircon is > turned up to high, they'd be fine if I was dressed for autumn, but > dressed for hot weather I just shiver. I'd say that about some US malls and stores, but it's less of the norm in the UK IME. Supermarkets tend to have the most a/c in the UK, but I've yet to find anywhere as frigid as you describe. Where are you talking about? Honestly, I'm racking my brain trying to think of a single shop I've been in recently in the UK where I felt it was too cold, at least compared to the US where I lived for 11 years. I've been in more than a few that would have benefited from a/c, in hot weather, but that's a different story... David -- David Horne- www.davidhorne.co.uk davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
Mxsmanic <[email protected]> wrote:
> The Reid writes: > > > when Europe is as hot as the US you will see as much aircon. > > Paris was as hot as Las Vegas today. Keep telling yourself that. David -- David Horne- www.davidhorne.co.uk davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
On Thu, 7 Aug 2003 02:12:21 +0100,
[email protected] (David Horne) wrote: >Jim Ley <[email protected]> wrote: >> Odd the one thing I find about shops in England in hot weather, is how >> cold they are, they're too cold to spend any time in, the aircon is >> turned up to high, they'd be fine if I was dressed for autumn, but >> dressed for hot weather I just shiver. >I'd say that about some US malls and stores, but it's less of the norm >in the UK IME. Supermarkets tend to have the most a/c in the UK, but >I've yet to find anywhere as frigid as you describe. Where are you >talking about? As you say supermarkets are one place that's particularly bad, the awful safeway I was forced into for lunch (as the only place that sold food near where I worked) was always too cold all year round. Generally the problems are M&S and similar large department stores, here in Vancouver, I've not had the same problem if anything the shops have been too warm. Jim. |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
Jim Ley <[email protected]> wrote:
> Generally the problems are M&S and similar large department stores, Really? I'd be very surprised if many foreign visitors agreed that UK department stores were over-cooled. Like I said, I lived in the US for 11 years, and was frequently annoyed by stores which I considered _too_ cool. I can't think of one in the UK so far. Supermarets are cool, but frigid? NIME. David -- David Horne- www.davidhorne.co.uk davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
In article
<1fzaupk.j72ywyuwjlj9N%i_will_almost_never_read_th [email protected]>, [email protected] (David Horne) wrote: > Jim Ley <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Generally the problems are M&S and similar large department stores, > > Really? I'd be very surprised if many foreign visitors agreed that UK > department stores were over-cooled. Like I said, I lived in the US for > 11 years, and was frequently annoyed by stores which I considered _too_ > cool. I can't think of one in the UK so far. Supermarets are cool, but > frigid? NIME. It's really a matter of what you consider "cool", I think. I've never found a store frigid, but I don't like heat much. I also don't travel to Europe in summer now that I've retired from teaching and can go when I please, usually fall. -- Mary Loomer Oliver(aka erilar) Erilar's Cave Annex: http://www.airstreamcomm.net/~erilarlo |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
On Thu, 7 Aug 2003 02:29:05 +0100,
[email protected] (David Horne) wrote: >Jim Ley <[email protected]> wrote: >> Generally the problems are M&S and similar large department stores, >Really? I'd be very surprised if many foreign visitors agreed that UK >department stores were over-cooled. Like I said, I lived in the US for >11 years, and was frequently annoyed by stores which I considered _too_ >cool. I can't think of one in the UK so far. Supermarets are cool, but >frigid? NIME. I agree, I think the problem is personal perception, it could also simply be tolerance to rapid changes of temperatures, and I've just got poor ability it that, so can't cope with say the 5 C temp difference even if normally the temp in the stores would be fine, and other people are happy with the temp. Jim. |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
Jim Ley writes:
> I agree, I think the problem is personal perception, it could also > simply be tolerance to rapid changes of temperatures, and I've just > got poor ability it that, so can't cope with say the 5 C temp > difference even if normally the temp in the stores would be fine, and > other people are happy with the temp. FWIW, most large stores in Paris are air-conditioned, but only slightly, and the air inside is often extremely humid and clammy (which betrays an inadequate A/C, incidentally). It's not the temperature so much as the very high humidity in these stores that bothers me. It's much worse in winter, when almost all the large stores are dramatically overheated. -- Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
David Horne schrieb:
> > Mxsmanic <[email protected]> wrote: > > > The Reid writes: > > > > > when Europe is as hot as the US you will see as much aircon. > > > > Paris was as hot as Las Vegas today. > > Keep telling yourself that. > > David > > -- > David Horne- www.davidhorne.co.uk > davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk Yesterday saw the all-time record for Germany. 40.7 degrees- that's 105 Fahrenheit for the rest of you. Tom |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
Thomas Peel writes:
> Yesterday saw the all-time record for Germany. 40.7 > degrees- that's 105 Fahrenheit for the rest of you. Alas! Records are made to be broken. Wait and see. -- Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. |
Re: Europeans Swelter in Near-Record Heat
Mxsmanic <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]... > grey writes: > > Heh. Wish that were true--too often, I've run into "Euro air > > conditioning" on really hot days/nights--the kind where you have to > > hold up a feather before the vent to see if it's on... > That's another bizarre thing about Europeans: Sometimes they install > air conditioning, but they never, ever turn it on. It's just never "hot > enough" to justify that decadence. Even on sweltering days, you walk > into stores and restaurants that clearly have air conditioning installed > (I can spot the telltale signs of central air a kilometre away), but > don't have it running. > > But the climate does seem to be changing, and a lot more people are > > getting serious about a/c in Europe where you never saw that before... > Good. (Good that they are taking A/C seriously, not good that it's > getting so hot.) We have two small village stores, & both are wonderfully airconditioned - guess where people are meeting up! (Unfortunately, the pub ain't!) Surreyman |
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