‘It’s getting hotter and it’s not stopping’: dealing with the heat in five of Europe’s capitals

A man shelters beneath the shade of an umbrella or parasol as he crosses the Puerta del Sol square in central Madrid. Photograph: Pablo Garcia/The Guardian

In recent days across parts of Europe, temperatures have soared, heat records have been broken and spring has felt more like the height of summer. Météo France, the French national weather service, has attributed this to a “heat dome”, with warmth held in place by a high-pressure weather front that has produced temperatures more than 10C above what used to be usual for this time of year.