Record temperatures across much of Europe have affected crops and people, and now have jammed twelve of Amsterdam’s bridges, closing them to traffic for extended periods.
The Magere Brug, above, and the others have undergone so much heat that metal parts have expanded, jamming the mechanisms that allow them to open for traffic. In normal years, canal water is piped onto the joints to keep them movable, but this year has been too much for them.
Elsewhere, the high temperatures have caused health and traffic issues, as well as a number of big surprises: Temperatures have gone over 100° F in Norway, while at the other end of Europe, Portugal’s southern beach areas are having their coldest July in memory. The temperatures have also been contributing factors in outbreaks of wildfires in Sweden and Greece.
