VARIOUS: While hot weather bakes one part of Europe, another one gets hit by severe weather

Record ID: 333035

  • Title: VARIOUS: While hot weather bakes one part of Europe, another one gets hit by severe weather
  • Date: 3rd July 2009
  • Summary: WATER BEING SPRAYED OVER ELEPHANT ANOTHER ELEPHANT ENTERING WATER ELEPHANT SWIMMING, SPRAY OF WATER SPLASHING HIS FACE ELEPHANT SWIMMING, ZOO WORKER SPRAYING ELEPHANT WITH WATER ELEPHANT BEING SPRAYED SEA OTTER CHULUUGI ON ROCK EATING BLOCK OF ICE SEA OTTER EATING ICE, JUMPING INTO WATER OTTER SWIMMING ON ITS BACK, EATING ICE SEA OTTER SWIMMING UNDERWATER
  • Embargoed: 18th July 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Weather
  • Reuters ID: LVAAV2B6032GU2QF09SPRJ51U475
  • Story Text: With temperatures soaring, many seek a break in the sun during their day, while the animals in Antwerp zoo enjoy ice creams and a cold shower.
    But while half of Europe was baking, the other half suffered from severe weather - in Spain with hail stones as large as golf balls which smashed car windscreens and damaged roofs.
    While Britons braced themselves for the hottest day of the year on Thursday (July 2) with temperatures in London hitting up to 31 degrees Celsius (88 Fahrenheit), many made the most of the sunshine and spend as many hours outdoors.
    In Canary Wharf, usually dominated by the suit-and-tie uniform of bankers, sun dresses and short sleeves were the order of the day, many people sat outside during their lunch hour to make the most of the sunshine.
    And tennis fans did not have to miss out. On a lawn in the middle of Canary Wharf, lunchers could lounge in the sun and watch the Serena Williams battling Elena Dementieva on a big screen.
    And this week's sizzling sunshine is lifting expectations among UK tourism chiefs that more people will be staying at home this year. Visitors coming to the UK from abroad are also able to enjoy the sunny spell, even if their initial plan was to take advantage of exchange rates, rather than climate.
    Parisians near the Notre Dame cathedral were also seen worshipping the sun. Temperatures in the French capital were expected to reach 31 degrees Celsius as the summer season hit full swing.
    Shielding themselves from the strong rays, both tourists and residents tried to beat the heat in various ways.
    Papers and umbrellas were used to create shade, while some turned to cool drinks to stay refreshed.
    Others were drawn to the Seine's riverbanks and cool-water fountains.
    But further relief may soon be in sight as forecasters predict showers over the upcoming weekend.
    Ice cream is not just for children - bears and sea otters like them too - which is why Antwerp zoo distributed ice to its animals to help them cope with soaring temperatures.
    While some animals tried to hide in the shade, others preferred to go for a plunge.
    But when the ice creams appeared, it was time to interrupt the afternoon siesta.
    The two spectacle bears kept in Antwerp zoo had the choice between a blueberry or an apple/banana ice blocks.
    In their natural environment, the mountainous region of South America, they are used to a temperature ranging between 15 (59 Fahrenheit) and 25 decrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit). There, they look for shade in hollow trees or caves.
    The coatis sharing the bears' enclosure were given smaller ice creams but after those, they were still interested in the leftover from the bears.
    Mid-afternoon, it seems that just about everyone in the zoo was eating ice creams.
    Except the elephants of course who enjoyed a cold shower instead.
    One definitely not used to those temperatures was Chuluugi, a sea otter originally from Alaska. Despite having its summer skin, zoo keepers have to regularly supply him with buckets of ice to keep him cool.
    Temperatures varied between 27 (81 Fahrenheit) and 31 degrees centigrade in Belgium, the highest in northern Europe. Temperatures reached a maximum of 34 (93.2 Fahrenheit) in Madrid and 33 (91.4 Fahrenheit) in Athens, according to the IRM weather website.
    It was a very different story in Spain. The area of Vitoria-Gasteiz was battered by a severe hail storm, with hailstones as large as golf balls which smashed car windscreens and damaged roofs.
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