The Latest: Heat wave smashes weather records in Europe

PARIS: The Latest on the record-breaking heatwave hitting Europe (all times local):

7:30 p.m.

Talk about winning the product placement lottery.

A photograph of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greeting new Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday showed a tower-like fan standing out against the delicate gilt-edged décor at Buckingham Palace.

Eagle-eyed editors and style gurus on Thursday identified the distinctive machine helping the monarch to keep cool as a Dyson model that costs about 350 pounds ($436). The fan's performance was discussed while people had fun repurposing the photo on social media.

Buckingham Palace is in the second year of a 10-year renovation after a Treasury report concluded the building's infrastructure was in danger of a catastrophic failure.

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7:05 p.m.

France's interior minister warned as the country suffered through another heatwave that drownings across the country are up 30% this month compared to last July.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner linked France's 60 drowning deaths so far this month indirectly to the current heatwave.

Castaner noted a rise in people drowning in unguarded bodies of water as they seek relief from high temperatures. He says some victims suffer thermal shock when they jump from hot air into cold water.

French emergency services reported a spike in calls Thursday when Paris had a new all-time high temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 F).

Thousands of people died of heat-related causes during a 2003 heatwave.

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6:55 p.m.

Germany's National Meteorological Service says a new national high-temperature record has been set for the third time in a day.

The meteorological service said the temperature reached 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 F) in the northern German town of Lingen on Thursday afternoon.

Lingen also was where record highs were recorded within minutes of each other earlier in the day.

Across Europe, record temperatures are being set as the continent swelters in what is its second heatwave this summer.

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6:35 p.m.

Dutch media are reporting that about 20 children became ill at a summer camp as temperatures passed 40 degrees Celsius in several areas of the Netherlands.

Broadcaster RTV Utrecht reported that the children fell ill in the central town of Leusden on Thursday afternoon.

Some of the children were taken to a hospital to be examined.

A local emergency services coordinator tweeted that first responders were at the scene administering first aid.

A person who answered the telephone at the camp declined to comment and hung up.

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6:10 p.m.

German news agency dpa reports that some people returned tickets ahead of the opening of Germany's famous Bayreuth opera festival because of the sweltering weather.

Patrons arrived for the festival's black-tie opening on Thursday wearing gowns and tuxedos. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, dressed in a lemon yellow outfit, was among them.

The annual festival in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth is devoted to the work of composer Richard Wagner.

Organizers said several tickets were returned because of the extreme heat and the performance hall's absence of air conditioning.

In the northern German town of Lingen, a new national record temperature of 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 F) was set Thursday afternoon, breaching a previous high set just minutes earlier.

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5:40 p.m.

Soaring temperatures have disrupted train service in England as Britain sizzled during the hottest July on record.

Heat damaged overhead electric wires between London's St Pancras and Luton railway stations on Thursday, blocking all lines. Operator East Midlands Trains posted a passenger advisory on Twitter, saying simply: "DO NOT TRAVEL."

Britain's Met Office says the mercury reached 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 F) in Cambridge, a July record and only the second time temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit have been recorded in the U.K.

The all-time record of 38.5 degrees Celsius (101 F) was set in August 2003.

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4:30 p.m.

It was a drug deal that was truly too hot to handle.

Antwerp police said Thursday they arrested two men who had called emergency officials to come rescue them from an overheated container in the port, where they had somehow locked themselves in, allegedly looking for drugs.

Outside, Belgium was blazing through its hottest day ever, with temperatures peaking over 40C (104F) in the shade.

Police said it took two hours to find the container.

Video of the incident showed how one man slumped out of the container and fell to the ground when police finally opened the container. Cocaine was found in the cargo.

The two men were charged with importing drugs and belonging to a criminal organization.

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4:15 p.m.

The German weather service says a new record temperature of 41.5 degrees Celsius (106.7 degrees Fahrenheit) has been set, breaching the previous high set earlier in the day.

The meteorological service said temperatures had risen Thursday to a new national high in the northern German town of Lingen and that they were expected to climb even higher in the late afternoon.

Wednesday's record was at 40.5 C (104.9 F) in Geilenkirchen near the Belgian border, the German news agency dpa said.

Across Europe, record temperatures are being set as the continent swelters in its second heatwave this summer.

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3:55 p.m.

The German Weather service says a new record temperature of 40.6 degrees Celsius (105.1 degrees Fahrenheit) has been set, breaching the previous high set just a day ago.

The meteorological service said temperatures had risen to a new national high in Bonn in western Germany and that they were expected to climb even higher in the late afternoon.

Wednesday's record was at 40.5 C (104.9 F) in Geilenkirchen near the Belgian border, the German news agency dpa said.

Across Europe, record temperatures are being set as the continent swelters in what is its second heatwave this summer.

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3:25 p.m.

Belgium has set a new national heat record for the second time in as many days as temperatures shot up to 40.6 degrees Celsius (105.1 Fahrenheit) in the northeast of the country.

David Dehenauw, head of forecasting at the Royal Meteorological Institute said "New national record: 40.6 C in Kleine Brogel! Is this for real!"

Temperatures could still shoot higher, since the mark was set in the early afternoon Thursday, with several hours of blasting sunshine to go.

On Wednesday, the Belgian temperature record was set at 40.2 C (104.4 F) in nearby Angleur.

Belgium has kept temperature records since 1833.

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2.10 p.m.

Britain has recorded its hottest day on record for July, with the mercury climbing to 36.9 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) at Heathrow Airport.

The conditions come as the country — better known for its often gray and damp conditions — prepared for the possibility of record-breaking temperatures later on Thursday.

The previous July record was 36.7 C (98 F) in 2015, while the all-time record of 38.5 C (101 F) was set in August 2003. Britain's Met Office said records go back to 1865.

The hot weather is causing problems for the National Health Service.

Dr. Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, says staff are struggling since many facilities do not have air conditioning.

Scriven says no lessons were learned from earlier heat waves. He says that "last year, hospitals hired in large fans and coolers for a week or so but have got nothing long-term in place."

They are, he said, "purely reactive not proactive."

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2:10 p.m.

Paris has beaten its all-time heat record, hitting 40.6 C (105.1 F) amid a heat wave breaking barriers across Europe.

Authorities say the temperature is still rising.

The national weather service Meteo France announced that the new record was reached Thursday afternoon, beating the previous record of 40.4 C (104.8 F) in 1947.

It's one of several records set in this week's heat wave — the second wave baking the continent this summer.

France saw its hottest-ever day on record last month, when a southern town reached 46 C (114.8 F).

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12:45 p.m.

A Dutch government health institute is warning of high levels of smog due to ozone in the air in parts of the country as a heat wave bakes Europe.

The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment issued a "smog alarm" Thursday for regions including the densely populated cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.

The institute says air quality in the some regions will be "extremely bad" because light winds mean that pollution is not being blown away and sunlight transforms it into ozone.

The smog can cause irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, and leave people coughing and short of breath.

The institute warns that the elderly, children and people who already suffer from airway problems are particularly susceptible, and should stay indoors and avoid strenuous physical exertions.

Temperatures in the Netherlands are forecast to climb toward 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Thursday.

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12:15 p.m.

Officials in Belgium say the nation has seen temperatures rise past the 40 C mark for the first time since records were kept in 1833.

The Belgian meteorological institute said on Thursday that the new record now stood at 40.2 C (104.4 F), recorded close to Liege in eastern Belgium's Angleur on Wednesday.

It had said earlier that the 39.9 C seen in Kleine Brogel was the new national record.

The institute said that the record could well be broken again on Thursday.

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12 noon

Authorities in Austria say a 2-year-old boy has died of dehydration in the country's Styria region after he climbed into an overheated parked car without his family noticing and fell asleep in it.

The Austrian news agency APA reported Thursday that the boy, who climbed into a car parked at the family's farm on Monday, died at a children's hospital on Wednesday.

The country's authorities warned Thursday that children and animals can die quickly in closed cars without air conditioning even if the outside temperature is only at 26 degrees Celsius (79 F).

Europe is sweltering in a record-breaking heat wave with temperatures expected to rise to more than 40 C (104 F) in some places.

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11:30 a.m.

Hot, hotter, hottest! Paris, London and points across Europe are bracing for record temperatures Thursday as the second heat wave this summer bakes the continent.

Climate scientists warn this could become the new normal in many parts of the world. But temperate Europe — where air conditioning is rare — isn't equipped for the temperatures frying the region this week.

So tourists frolicked in fountains to seek relief and authorities and volunteers fanned out to help the elderly, sick and homeless hit hardest by the heat. Trains were canceled in Britain and France, and French authorities urged travelers to stay home.

On Thursday, the Paris area could be as hot as 42 C (108 F) as a result of hot, dry air coming from northern Africa that's trapped between cold stormy systems.

London might see 39 C (102 F). And swaths of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland could face temperatures exceeding 40 C (104 F).