Searing heat waves. It will get worse and worse and worse to the point where, I’m afraid, we’ll be passing the limits of adaptation.” First, record-setting heat waves dried out soil and vegetation, which had become abundant after a wet winter. Friederike Otto, a German climatologist at Imperial College London, said “jet stream” wind patterns and high-pressure systems once could lock in days of “nice-ish summer weather” in Europe. France’s weather and climate service has painted a dystopian picture, saying that by 2050, heat waves could be five times more frequent, while temperatures could hit 47C.