AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Italy is limiting outdoor work. France has shuttered schools. The top floor of the Eiffel Tower is closed because of the record temperatures. Europe is in the grips of a dangerous heat wave, and NPR's Eleanor Beardsley tells us how Europeans, who live largely without air conditioning, are coping.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Europe is scorching under a phenomenon known as a heat dome - a high-pressure system that's trapping hot air above the continent. Parts of the Mediterranean Sea hit a record 86 degrees. Spain and Portugal have confirmed their hottest June temperatures ever.
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BEARDSLEY: In France, the streets of this Burgundy town are empty as the stone buildings radiate the heat of the afternoon sun.
You pretty much only hear the birds because everybody is inside.
Europeans have strategies for dealing with the heat.
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BEARDSLEY: Despite the blazing temperatures outside, the house of Pierre and Masha Skowronski is cool and dark.
PIERRE SKOWRONSKI: We've got thick stone walls, and this protects us well. And we keep all the windows and, of course, the shutters closed.
BEARDSLEY: They open their windows at night to let fresh air in when temps come down, and they only go out in the morning and evening.
(LAUGHTER)
PASCAL RIVAIS: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: Four retirees are enjoying themselves under a cafe awning in the village, despite the heat. But things are getting worse, says 71-year-old Dominique Rivais.
DOMINIQUE RIVAIS: (Through interpreter) Usually, the heat waves are in August. This is early, and they're more often and last longer. We're going to have to change to adapt to this.
BEARDSLEY: One thing makes them very happy - that they don't live in Paris.
P RIVAIS: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: "Oh, it's a horror," says Pascal Rivais. "The traffic, the stifling subway."
P RIVAIS: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: The countryside is a few degrees cooler than cities like Paris.
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UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: News reports from the French capital show sweltering Parisians and tourists and French officials preparing for the worst. In the back of everyone's mind is the horrific heat wave of 2003 that killed 15,000 people - mostly elderly living alone in Paris. But some are clearly trying to make the best of a tough situation.
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OLIVIER GIRAUD: Hello, everybody. Today, Paris is burning, and due to the climate change, we are now able to cook on the roof.
BEARDSLEY: In an Instagram video, Paris comedian Olivier Giraud, sweating heavily, leans out of his quaint mansard roof window to prepare a specialty.
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GIRAUD: I'm going to make you an amazing recipe, which is the camembert popcorn rooftop. Let's go.
BEARDSLEY: Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Burgundy.
(SOUNDBITE OF KAYTRANADA SONG, "LOVER/FRIEND") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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