Climate threat Extreme weather in Europe

1,500 London bus drivers on strike: Ovens on wheels

London buses are getting so hot that drivers are sometimes close to fainting at the wheel, according to the union Unite, which is demanding air conditioning and is taking 1,500 drivers out for a two-day strike, according to the BBC. Temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius have been recorded inside several buses.

“We bring this up year after year and the summers are just getting hotter, we can’t sweep it under the rug anymore,” Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told The Standard.

One driver says that sweat is dripping into his eyes and that opening the window doesn’t help, as it only lets hot air in.

“You’re in an oven. Sometimes it feels like a microwave, a closed space with no ventilation,” he told LBC.

According to employer Arriva, the health of staff and passengers is the top priority.

–We urge Unite to return to constructive negotiations so that we can avoid traffic disruptions, says Arriva CEO Wasim Mohammed to the BBC.

Eleven more strikes are planned until October.

Drought threatens next year's harvests in Europe

Drought and extreme heat in Europe risk hitting next year's harvests. Farmers in several major growing regions are postponing autumn sowing in anticipation of rain, reports Bloomberg.

– The ground is so incredibly dry that we probably need 25-50 millimeters of rain for it to make a difference, says British farmer James Mills.

Rapeseed is the first to be threatened, followed by winter wheat, barley and rye. Forecasts point to continued hot and dry weather into autumn, while grain prices have already risen sharply.