Hottest week...

Southern Europe is roasting, with Spain, Italy and Greece showing up on weather maps as angry red welts. The world has endured the hottest week since records began in 1850 (and maybe the hottest since the Eemian or interglacial period, about 120,000 years ago). I well remember last year’s heatwave, when, a few miles south at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, the mercury in the thermometer climbed to 40.3°C. Nothing like that this summer, with today’s temperature in Asselby struggling to reach 16°C, with more rain – and thunder – on the way…