BRITAIN is not alone in its record-breaking heat. Germany hit a record 40.8C (105F) last week, passing the previous mark set 20 years ago.

Many towns and cities across France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland have recorded their own heat records, and Switzerland has had its driest six-month period.

A climate change sceptic claimed this week that these figures have little to do with global warming, and that there is little to worry about.

“One hot summer in Europe doesn’t mean that the world’s climate has permanently changed for the worse,” he said. After all, the immediate cause of the summer heat is a stubborn high pressure stuck over Europe, dragging up hot air from the Sahara.

However, these savage heatwaves are striking at increasingly regularly intervals. The 1990s had the hottest summers on record, and this decade is seeing even higher temperatures. It beggars belief that this is all some sort of statistical quirk or a freak of nature. The climate is more probably becoming seriously unhinged, and the obvious culprit is greenhouse gas pollution.

Lastly, bad news for another climate change sceptic, President Bush. His home state of Texas broke its own heat record last week.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Alex Rider exclusive: Incident in Nice
• Green & confused: do energy-saving bulbs work?
• Let’s skip lunch, say the hungry generation