Europe sweats as sun sizzles across continent

A woman sunbathes on a beach along the Bassin d’Arcachon Sea in Arcachon, near Bordeaux. Photo: Reuters/Regis Duvignau

Jamey Keaten

Joggers wheezed, electric trains stalled, and Britain sweated through its hottest July day on record as a broad swath of Western Europe sweltered in a heatwave.

Authorities in France and elsewhere, mindful that thousands died during a 2003 heatwave, reached out to the elderly, families and other vulnerable people yesterday to warn of health risks. Paris officials opened special air-conditioned rooms for the public.