The impossible: Germans long for cooler climes as the bodies stack up

There is no respite from the heat here. Air conditioning is an anomaly reserved for commerce and the decadent; the sun rages full-on, with precious little Wolke oder Schatten to protect the passersby. One can spy German city-dwellers lolling in their sweltering apartments like tropical lizards. The brain is feverish, bleeding. And now, papers open to the inevitable: people are dying.

Among the predictables in France and Spain, Germany has claimed 12 "bathing" deaths, which means people who have fallen asleep in the midday sun. The big sleep, rather. This is for old people, and is not as horrifying as it sounds: the sounds of children playing and gentle splashes of water echo in your ears. The solarized world blurs with each blink, and the crows surrounding you take on the downy, welcoming appearance of doves. Time is moving slowly. Your body feels pleasantly heavy, like honeyed coffee. You are being sauteed off the earth.

The rest of the report reads like the acts of a crazed god:

The dryness triggered by the heat has caused forest fires in several countries, including Slovenia, where a blaze affecting around 900 hectares in the southern region of Kras was brought under control and expected to be put out later Tuesday. Around 1,000 firefighters, assisted by military helicopters, had been battling the flames for five days, the news agency STA reported.

In Croatia, three people were injured after a bolt of lightning struck the tree under which they were standing at a beach in Novi Vinodolski, near the northern city of Rijeka. Meteorologists in Germany said the temperatures would remain in the 30s for the remainder of the week.

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