ON THE MORNING of June 24th the Shaw Library at the London School of Economics was meant to be(本应（但未实现）) full of people discussing the impacts of climate change as part of London Climate Action Week. It was not to be(但事与愿违). Britain’s Met Office had, for only the second time, issued a “red” warning about temperatures high enough to pose risks even to the fit and healthy(健康强健的人). The organisers decided they could not proceed with(继续进行) their meeting—the subject of which was “Extreme heat: Improving governance and strengthening action”.
6月24日上午，伦敦政治经济学院的肖氏图书馆本应挤满了参与伦敦气候行动周、讨论气候变化影响的人们。然而事实并非如此。英国气象局第二次发布了“红色”预警，警告气温高到足以对健康人群构成风险。组织者决定取消会议——会议主题正是“极端高温：改善治理与强化行动”。
Qualitatively, the European heatwave that started on June 18th is not unusual. A horseshoe of lower pressure—a so-called omega block(Ω型阻塞（高压系统）)—is sustaining(维持，保持) an area of high pressure over the western part of the continent. The air near the surface in this high-pressure region came from the south-east, rather than off the Atlantic(而不是来自大西洋), and so started off fairly warm. High pressure above stopped it from losing its heat through convection(对流), a process that produces clouds. A lack of clouds let the Sun stoke(添加燃料；煽动，加剧) things further. Temperatures rose.
从性质上看，始于6月18日的欧洲热浪并不罕见。一个马蹄状的低压区——所谓的欧米伽阻塞——在欧洲西部维持着一个高压区。该高压区域接近地表的空气来自东南方向而非大西洋，因此起始温度就相当高。上空的暖高压阻止了热量通过对流（一种产生云的过程）散失。缺少云层让太阳进一步加热。气温上升。
Quantitatively, it has been something else(完全不同的情况) (see map). Temperatures over 40°C (104°F) were recorded in much of France and Spain; they were not ruled out(不排除（可能性）) for Britain, which has seen them only once before. France saw its hottest day ever(有史以来最热的一天) on June 24th, with 58 administrative departments under a red alert. The same applied to 16 Italian cities. Germany’s heat record could be broken by June 28th. Across the continent schools are shut, trains are cancelled and power grids are groaning(呻吟；不堪重负).
从数量上看，情况则完全不同（见图）。法国和西班牙大部分地区记录到超过40°C（104°F）的气温；英国也可能出现这样的高温——此前只发生过一次。法国在6月24日经历了有史以来最热的一天，58个行政省处于红色警报状态。意大利16个城市同样如此。德国的热浪记录可能在6月28日前被打破。整个欧洲大陆学校关闭、列车取消、电网不堪重负。
