Record high temperatures across Western Europe

Schools have closed in France. A nuclear power plant near Toulouse has been forced to switch off a reactor. Nuclear power plants cannot operate correctly without enough water of the right temperature to cool down reactors. When these temperatures climb too high, the reactors need to be shut down to avoid environmental damage caused by hot water being discharged into local water courses.

Also on the programme: the newly discovered manuscript containing composition lessons by Mozart; and the continuing woes of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC.

(Photo: Young people cool off in the Fontaine de l'Observatoire fountain as temperatures rise in Paris Credit: Reuters/Abdul Saboor)