The scorching temperatures in western Europe and north Africa, and which have seen athletes and spectators boiling at the Paris Olympics, would have been impossible without human-caused global warming, recent analysis has shown.
Stunning images of athletic prowess and the beauty of some of Paris's Olympic venues have made it on to front pages around the world.
But others, like sailing competitors wearing ice vests to keep cool, or volunteers spraying down cheering fans at the shadeless beach volleyball stadium near the Eiffel tower, stand out for more worrying reasons.
Most of France is under heat warnings, with temperatures in Paris hitting 36C, the national weather agency said.
The heat was even worse in the south, including the region around the Mediterranean cities of Marseille and Nice that are hosting Olympic competitions like football and sailing. Temperatures in some parts of southern France have reached 41C.
Paris Olympics athletes and fans melt in 'brutal' heat
On Tuesday and Wednesday, spectators ducked under trees for shade, while players on the sunbaked sand took extra breaks to drape bags of ice over their heads and shoulders.
Just a few days earlier, the images painted an altogether different picture, when the 2024 Olympics launched with a rain-soaked opening ceremony that drenched athletes and spectators alike.
A full day of heavy rain on Saturday led to the open-air triathlon competition in the Seine river being postponed after the water quality declined.
Severe storms on Tuesday evening also caused major disruption to France's high-speed rail network, leaving thousands of travellers stranded.
Paris on major storm alert as Olympics continue
Climate change to blame
The weather chaos comes as no suprise to climate scientists.
A study published this week found that the extreme heat experienced in July in France and in other countries like Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco “would not have occurred without human induced climate change”.
Scientists with the World Weather Attribution group conducting the research said the climate crisis, fuelled by the burning of fossil fuels, had made temperatures 2.5C to 3.3C warmer.
July's heatwave was caused by a high-pressure ridge, often known as a "heat dome". It came after 13 months of extreme heat around the world and each of the last 13 months has been the hottest ever recorded.
EU climate monitor reports highest ever average global temperatures
Green ambitions scaled down
Paris 2024’s organising committee have aimed to cut the Games’ carbon footprint by half and stage the most sustainable Olympics ever.
As well as adapting as much of the existing infrastructure as possible rather than building new venues, it has turned to an underfloor cooling system and insulation instead of air conditioning at the Olympic village where athletes are staying.
That was the plan, at least. But faced with the anticipated heat, the organisers scaled down their AC-free ambitions and installed 2,500 temporary cooling units.
AC-free ambition for Paris Olympic village melts away
Their attempts to reduce carbon emissions were struck a further blow on Wednesday when complaints by athletes over the carbon-neutral, largely vegetarian menus led to meat being reinstated.
A recent study showed that halving meat consumption would allow France to meet its climate objectives. It aims to reducing farming-related emissions by 46 percent by 2050.
