Here in Madrid, I have just been through the longest, hottest heatwave of my life. For more than a week, temperatures hovered near or at 40C. (For comparison: Britain’s all-time highest temperature is 38.7C.) At night we’d sleep with the fans on and windows open, choosing street noise over suffocation. The city became less productive and less fun: 10-minute journeys felt too long, the kids’ school closed in the afternoons and their football matches were cancelled. Vulnerable people died. Heatwaves in Spain now kill as many as 1,500 to 1,700 people every year.
在西班牙马德里，我刚刚经历了人生中最漫长、最炎热的一波热浪。一周多以来，这里的气温一直徘徊在40摄氏度左右。（相较而言，英国历史最高气温才38.7摄氏度。）晚上睡觉，我们会开着风扇和窗户，宁愿忍受街道噪音也不想热到窒息。这座城市的效率变低了，娱乐也变少了：10分钟的路程都觉得太远了，孩子们的学校下午就关门了，足球比赛也取消了。同时，还有承受不住高温的人群因此而死。如今，西班牙每年因热浪而丧生的人数多达1500至1700人。