The on-going extreme heatwaves across the northern hemisphere continue to make news. The Times reports that “nuclear energy plants in parts of Europe are being powered down because the hot weather has increased the risk of reactors getting dangerously hot or harming wildlife”. It adds: “Reactors are kept cool using water from rivers or the sea but water temperatures are far higher than normal. A reactor at Ringhals in Sweden has been closed after seawater reached 25C, the maximum temperature allowed under safety rules. If water is not cold enough it could result in ‘disaster”’ Vattenfall, the power company, said.” The New York Times reports that the country’s highest peak has “lost its title this week because record heat has been melting away the tip of a glacier that sits atop the Kebnekaise mountain”. Reuters says that “searing heat has devastated wheat fields across northern Europe while a combination of dry conditions and extreme rain in the Black Sea have hit output estimates, with prices soaring on fears of further crop damage”. Separately, Reuters covers new analysis by the risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft which concludes that “rising temperatures in a warming world will cost poor countries tens of billions of dollars annually as they are less able to keep their workers cool”. Writing for Grist, Eric Holthaus argues that “California’s fire tornado is what climate change looks like”, adding: “Big fires, like the Carr Fire [burning near the city of Redding], are getting more common as more people live closer to forests and temperatures rise. But it’s that latter factor that’s most important in making fire size skyrocket in recent years. The heat we’re experiencing right now is unlike any previous generation has ever experienced. And it’s not just happening in California.” Meanwhile, BBC Newshas a feature examining “why is Heathrow so hot?” Heathrow airport is a “magnet for the sizzling heat”, it says. However, this is not due to heat from aircraft – a common claim by climate sceptics. It concludes: “The Met Office told us that their weather stations are built to very specific standards and any biases that could affect temperature records are taken into account when taking down readings…In summary, the overall temperature of any particular weather station is likely to be affected by several factors – such as the geographic features, the wind and the soil. So, there’s more to Heathrow’s hot spot than its proximity to roaring jet engines and all that tarmac.”