The Heat's On

Mad dogs and Englishmen were not the only ones going out in the midday sun last week. All over Western Europe, it seemed, there was no escape from the record-breaking heat. In Paris, thermometers pushed 100DEG for the first time in almost 30 years. In the French countryside, the sun boiled away village duckponds and scorched crops in one of the worst droughts of the century.

Across the Rhine in Germany, farmers were slaughtering prized cattle for lack of fodder; in the Hesse area alone, drought damage was estimated at more than $400 million. West German Autobahnen buckled in the fierce sun. In Frankfurt, citizens going wild in the heat piled into public swimming pools in such numbers that the facilities had to shut down shortly after opening each day. Breweries worked overtime to quench the increased demand for beer--and the resulting overconsumption led to more brawls than usual among overheated drinkers. In Italy, some seaside resorts started rationing water.

Toga Switch. Meanwhile the British, who begin wilting at around 75DEG, were hard pressed to keep their dignity starched. Businessmen were actually sighted coatless on London streets as temperatures stubbornly hovered near 90DEG each day, and a beat-the-heat letter to the London Times suggested that since Romans were known for their dignity, perhaps gentlemen should switch to togas. Switching to topless bathing in the fountains of Trafalgar Square, however, cost three young ladies a police summons. Even the royal family was having trouble keeping its cool, since neither Buckingham Palace nor Windsor Castle is air-conditioned. Said a palace spokesman: "All we can do is to throw open all the windows and try not to think about it."

But unhappy people were not the only sufferers. In the Cologne Zoo, three South American llamas collapsed from heat prostration at about the same time; one later died. So did a sunstruck boa constrictor in England's Dudley Zoo, where special sunshades were set up to help the penguins weather the continuing heat wave.

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