Europe feeling the extreme heat

A restaurant on the Piazza della Signoria using jets of water vapour to make customers more comfortable in Florence, Italy. — ©2023 The New York Times Company

TOURISTS shelter under umbrellas as they line up at Florence’s majestic cathedral, looking for shade. Street vendors peddle fans and straw hats. Locals splash their faces at water fountains, all seeking a respite from Europe’s latest heat wave.

“It feels like home,” said Alina Magrina, a 64-year-old tourist from California – parts of which, like much of the southern United States, have been hit by sweltering temperatures, too. “But at home, we move from one air-conditioned space to the next.”