Europe is currently in the grip of a fierce, unrelenting heatwave, with temperatures in several countries surging past 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
This is not simply a matter of discomfort. Extreme heat is a public health emergency. When temperatures climb beyond what the human body can regulate, its cooling systems begin to fail. The most vulnerable â older people, those with chronic illnesses and anyone without reliable access to cooling â bear the heaviest burden.
I was in Prague at the height of the heat, when the beautiful city turned into a baroque oven. Like much of Europe, Prague is architecturally designed to conserve warmth through long winters. That same design becomes a liability during prolonged summer extremes. Air conditioning remains uncommon, given the regionâs historically modest number of scorching days.
I have a surprisingly low tolerance for heat for someone who spent his formative years on a tropical island, and I was surprised to find myself emerging from those two infernal weeks in Prague with both health and sanity intact.
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