Every June, I make the same promise: this year I'll plan for the heat rather than be ambushed by it. And every June, I break it. Usually somewhere around afternoon 3 of staring at a blank screen, my brain slowly turning to soup.
This year, though, things are getting serious. Western Europe's endured its worst heatwave on record, with more than a thousand British schools closed and hospital admissions climbing. Spain and France have seen temperatures 20 degrees above normal, for weeks on end. And the central and eastern USA is bracing for its own scorcher ahead of the 4 July.
