As a historic heatwave scorched Western Europe this week, setting record high temperatures well over 100 degrees in places like Paris, Belgium and Germany, people and infrastructure alike struggled to keep up.
People resting in Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport, July 26, 2019, as the UK's biggest airport has apologized after extreme weather conditions across Europe caused flight cancellations and delays.As a historic heatwave scorched Western Europe this week, setting record high temperatures at well over 100 degrees in places like Paris, Belgium and Germany, people and infrastructure alike struggled to keep up.
Engineers this week struggled to repair damaged rail lines as networks slowed down trains. High temperatures cause steel tracks to expand and buckle under stress, according to the U.K. Network Rail, leading to widespread delays. Across Europe, sweltering commuters took to Twitter to complain of being stranded on stopped train services with no air conditioning. In one stance,after a damaged overhead train line sparked a grass fire on the railway bank, according to local reports.
"The air-conditioning on the trains doesn't work, and you can't open the windows. Air-conditioning isn't a thing here in general, which means people are suffering even more," Haustein said.