‘Swimming in sweat’ in Europe’s heat wave

Millions across Europe are trying to find heat relief by any means necessary, as a sizzling heat wave continues to break records faster than struggling fans and air conditioners can cool people off.

Dozens of Parisians left their stifling homes Wednesday night and set up camp out on the grass at the Buttes Chaumont Park. France tied its record for the hottest day on Wednesday and that followed the hottest night there.

(MORE: Heat wave records by the numbers)

One woman out in the park with her baby said she didn't think she'd sleep under the stars, but they were comfortable, "And since Buttes Chaumont Park is already like a proper hotel tonight, I feel a bit safer," she told Agence France-Presse.

More than 200 reporting stations across France have set all-time record highs in this heat wave. Residents and visitors are in for another scorcher Thursday with three-quarters of the country under a red heat alert.

Dreamy rooftops become a nightmare

Attic apartments with dreamy views of Paris have become heat-trapping nightmares because of their iconic, gray roofs made of zinc.

About three-quarters of Paris rooftops use sheets of zinc as covering, but they absorb and conduct heat, making them dangerous and potentially deadly during a heat wave.

“It’s been the worst week that we’ve had in this apartment,” Amelie Kenney told the Associated Press about her cheap, top-floor apartment, “It’s just baking in the whole afternoon and it’s impossible to just get a respite.”

A study of a record-breaking 2003 heat wave blamed for 15,000 heat-related deaths found that living in a Paris attic room directly under the roof increased the risk of death by more than fourfold, France's public health agency said in a report last year.

'Swimming in sweat' in the UK

The United Kingdom had its hottest June temperature on record Wednesday, 96.98 degrees Fahrenheit (36.1˚C) and that could fall today.

A high of 95 was recorded at London's Heathrow Airport.

In the city, 25-year-old Aaron Timothy told AFP, "It's hard to handle, but we get through it and everything ... We've done the previous heat wave as well. We worked through this heat. I was in the basement. It was a bit cooler, but it was still hot. Now I'm upstairs with the sun beaming through, so I'm absolutely sweating. I'm practically swimming in my own sweat, which is not pleasant."

Today red heat alerts cover much of central and southern England and Wales, according to the UK Met Office. They've also extended the red warning into Friday, noting that it's the first time the UK has had three consecutive days of red weather warnings for extreme heat. The oppressive temperatures are also stretching into parts of Switzerland and western Germany.

(MORE: Why trains slow down in extreme heat)

More than 40 drownings have been reported in France since last Thursday when the temperatures started to climb. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said many of the victims were young people. On Monday, two children ages 2 and 4 died after locking themselves in their family’s car in southern France, according to a public prosecutor in the town of Carpentras. 

(MORE: What is a heat dome?)