India, July 4 -- Wildfires, school closures, electricity grids breaking down, and deaths due to heat may appear strange events in Europe. However, the continent has experienced all three events in the past month. Part of the reason for some such events - such as the breakdown of electricity grids or a French government directive this week asking businesses to lower heat risk for workers - is that the continent's infrastructure is not designed for the level of heat it is experiencing this summer. An HT analysis suggests that this needs to change fast. This is because this summer is not an isolated event.

That temperatures in Europe have been far from usual in the past month is clear. Spain and England recorded their hottest recorded June ...