Photos Show the Effect of Heat Waves Across the Northern Hemisphere

No one can outrun the heat, not this year.

It's the height of August, and many parts of the world have been dealing with relentless heat waves this summer. The US, Europe, Japan, Russia, and Greenland have all experienced record-breaking high temperatures. July was likely the hottest month in recorded history.

These heat waves don't care about borders. Few cultural differences exist when it comes to keeping cool.

Wildfires are burning in Alaska and Russia, and Greenland is melting rapidly. People try to escape the relentless heat in fire hydrants, fountains, rivers, lakes, and oceans alike.

Here are 31 photos showing the struggle to stay cool, hydrated, and even-tempered during a particularly hot summer.

In July, the New York Triathlon was canceled because of the heat for the first time ever. The organization donated 1,900 gallons or water and Gatorade to New Yorkers in need.

In July, Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency in the city as the heat index was expected to reach 115 degrees.

Just don't open it improperly. Every minute a fire hydrant is open illegally, more than 1,000 gallons pour out. To stop water wastage, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection deploys a team of teenagers to inform New Yorkers about the dangers of it. But New Yorkers can request that firefighters open a hydrant to use as a sprinkler — officially.

Washington D.C. has 20 public pools people can swim in to keep cool.

Cucumber, tomatoes, and chillies are also recommended heating during a heat wave.

One Texan told The New York Times, "A summer day below 100 degrees is an invigorating as an arctic blast."

Here's a list of 10 swimming holes to cool off at in Texas.

The city provides a map of places to cool off.

In July, Alaska had its hottest day for at least 100 years, and then three days later it had an even hotter day. Temperatures have been so hot that smoke from wildfires can be seen in space.

Britain struggles particularly with the heat – most of its homes aren't built to keep cool; instead they're built to keep warm. It also named one hot day in July "Furnace Friday."

Paris also has 1,200 water fountains, 48 water misters, and 35 drinking fountains that can also function as sprinklers.

Pools like this are vital in Europe since air-conditioning is rare – it's found in less than 5% of French homes.

This exhibition, made up of hundreds of umbrellas, has been held in cities and towns across the world since 2011.

European cities get it worse than suburbia and rural areas when it comes to heat waves. They get almost twice as many, due to concrete and asphalt soaking up the day's heat then releasing it at night.

Since late 2018, it has been illegal to bathe human or animal body parts in well-known fountains, like the lion fountains in Piazza del Popolo. People who break these rules can be made to leave the city for two days.

Experts recommended aiming for 10 glasses of water a day during hot weather.

By the end of June, two people had died from heat stroke in Spain. One was a 17-year-old boy and the other was an elderly man.

In July, the Netherlands broke its highest recorded temperature when it reached 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

If beaches aren't preferable, there's always the Vuoksi River, filled with islands and rapids, which has water that's meant to be cleaner than the Gulf of Finland.

Moscow has more than 500 fountains, and some of them are worth a lot of money — one called The Stone Flower Fountain cost $18.6 million to restore.

Moscow has more than 100 parks within its city limits, which can feel a lot cooler than concrete and asphalt.

Moscow also has a selection of beaches where swimming is "officially allowed." Here's a list of 10 of them.

In June, Moscow reached a record high of 86 degrees Fahrenheit. It's usually in the 70s.

At a press conference in July, the head of Russia's meteorological service said the fires in Siberia were linked to climate change.

Eighty-two percent of Greenland is covered by ice, and by July 31, it had hit a record for melting — 56.5% was melted.

Melting at this level has not been seen since 2012. In July alone, 197 billion tons of ice melted in Greenland.

In 24 hours, 12.5 billion tons of ice melted in Greenland, which would be enough to cover Florida in nearly 5 inches of water.

This year, at least 57 people have died in Japan, and 18,000 have been hospitalized from the heat. Most have been over 65.

In 2018, Japan also had a deadly heat wave, when 65 people died from heat-related deaths within one week in July.

Some of the highest temperatures were recorded in central Japan, where it reached 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit in Gifu Prefecture at the end of July.

Here's a guide to some of Japan's best beaches.