What's the temperature where you are???

Thursday 1st of August 1.14p.m. Cloudy, cold and breezy. A scattering of raindrops earlier. Gentle 18.5 / 35.2kph SW, Hg43%, 15C / 59F top of 15C / 59F. Shower or two :rolleyes: Marine wind + hazardous surf.

Moon is 11.6% New Moon period - good fishing!

Paris Olympics: Heatwave conditions hit City of Light as athletes, horses and fans look to keep their cool​

19 hours ago​

By Daniel Miles with wires​

Paris is known as many things. The City Of Light, the City of Love, the Fashion capital of the world.

For the last few days of this year's Olympic Games, it's also been described in other, less glamorous, terms.

Like an absolute sauna, is one.

Having famously launched the Games with a rain-soaked opening ceremony, Paris' weather has been turned on its head with a heatwave.

It has been so extreme that hot weather protocols were introduced across a number of sports.

Tennis and soccer players were given extra breaks, BMX riders were provided umbrellas and horses were monitored with thermal cameras.

Some came prepared for the onslaught.

“We did sauna five days out of seven, building up from 10 minutes to 30 minutes," British hockey player Lee Morton said.

"It was after training, to make us see what it would be like here. We are fit for it, but nonetheless it's still very, very tough."

Hotter than hot​

Most of France is under heat warnings, with temperatures in Paris hitting 36 degrees Celsius / 96.8F, the national weather agency said.

The heat was even worse in the south, including the region around the Mediterranean cities of Marseilles and Nice that are hosting Olympic competitions like soccer and sailing.

It was as hot as 41C / 105F in parts of southern France.

In Versailles, organisers activated a special plan to protect the horses, the body's chief veterinarian said.

But not everyone was flustered by the hot weather.

Australian BMX rider Natalya Diehm was trying to see the bright side.

"We do have an advantage as Australians, over other countries, given the summers we have," she said after qualifying for the finals.

Not all fans flock to the shade​

The tennis proved particularly gruelling for both players and fans, with the latter sometimes clamouring for spots positioned out of the Sun's glare.

But some of the hardiest supporters were happy to grin and sweat it out.

"There were so many (in the) crowd cheering for me," said Chinese tennis player Zhen Qinwen.

"Chinese people, we don't like the Sun, and yet they're yelling for me under the Sun … I didn't fight alone on court today."

Chinese Paris-based financial analyst Yamen Zang was among the tennis fans.

"I feel like I'm in a sauna here," Zang told Reuters.

"I knew it would be like that, that's why I took a hat, a fan and all that's needed."
 
Quite a nice day, mostly cloudy.

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