European heat wave closes Eiffel Tower’s top floor and bakes Wimbledon

In Paris, blistering heat led the Eiffel Tower to close its summit and remind prospective visitors to take precautions. In London, the Wimbledon tennis tournament saw its hottest opening day on record, with temperatures climbing above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Farther south, Italy expanded its ban on outdoor work in the afternoon as the country contends with extreme heat. And in Brussels, the Atomium monument, with its distinctive stainless steel spheres, limited its hours to close earlier than usual due to scorching temperatures.

The heat wave that has blanketed much of Europe is expected to linger over the continent this week, driving up temperatures to higher-than-normal levels and offering little reprieve.

Punishing heat has set records for June in Spain, Portugal and England, upended sporting events and outdoor concerts, and brought unbearable conditions.

“Western Europe is under influence of a strong high-pressure system, trapping dry air from northern Africa over the region and leading to extreme heat,” the World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday, “which is having a major impact on all aspects of daily life.”

The heat wave is the result of what is known as a heat dome – a powerful area of high pressure in the atmosphere – that is anchored over Europe. It causes air to sink, compress and warm, suppresses cloud cover and leads to abundant sunshine, contributing to blistering heat.

The core of the most intense heat will stretch from France into Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany on Wednesday before moving farther east, toward Poland, on Thursday. Temperatures across Western Europe are forecast to cool late in the week, though another surge of above-average temperatures is expected this weekend. The heat dome may weaken more substantially next week.

Sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean, meanwhile, remain about 5 degrees Celsius above average, according to EU data.

The Eiffel Tower can withstand heat, increasing in size by a few millimeters and tilting away from the sun in steamier weather. But the tower’s summit was closed all day Monday, Tuesday and again Wednesday, according to the tower’s website.

Paris is expected to reach a high of 93 degrees on Wednesday, while areas in eastern France will see highs of up to 102 degrees, according to official forecasts. Parts of France remain under the highest heat-wave alert level.

At Wimbledon, spectators – including the actress Cate Blanchett and soccer star David Beckham – attempted to stave off the heat by cooling themselves with handheld fans and sheltering under umbrellas.

One fan got inventive, wearing a Wimbledon cap that had incorporated a solar-powered fan. Players were issued specially made ice towels.

In Italy, regions of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy banned work outdoors from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., joining other regions such as Sicily that have taken the precautionary measures amid temperatures that have soared above 96 degrees.

Heat waves, linked to human-caused climate change, have a more pronounced effect on urban dwellers, according to the World Meteorological Organization, and cities that have an abundance of pavement, buildings, vehicles and other heat sources tend to become much hotter than rural areas.

They are becoming more common in Europe, the agency said, with more than two-thirds of the most severe heat waves on the continent since 1950 having occurred since 2000.