• A mandrill licks a fruit ice cream in Ouwehands Dierenpark (Ouwehands Zoo) in Rhenen, on June 30, 2015 as temperatures in Europe soar. Piroschka van de Wouw/AFP Photo
    A mandrill licks a fruit ice cream in Ouwehands Dierenpark (Ouwehands Zoo) in Rhenen, on June 30, 2015 as temperatures in Europe soar. Piroschka van de Wouw/AFP Photo
  • As summer temperatures soar in Germany, beach chairs are set up in rows at the Baltic sea beach in Binz. The European weather forecast is promising high temperatures for the next few days. Stefan Sauer/EPA
    As summer temperatures soar in Germany, beach chairs are set up in rows at the Baltic sea beach in Binz. The European weather forecast is promising high temperatures for the next few days. Stefan Sauer/EPA
  • Hannah Shiffman enjoying an ice cream in Soho Square in London, England. The Met Office are predicting that July 1, 2015 could be the hottest day of the year with temperatures in the capital topping 35ºC. Rob Stothard/Getty Images
    Hannah Shiffman enjoying an ice cream in Soho Square in London, England. The Met Office are predicting that July 1, 2015 could be the hottest day of the year with temperatures in the capital topping 35ºC. Rob Stothard/Getty Images
  • Thirty-year-old Maria, from Spain, enjoys the refreshment of the fountain in Southbank, London as Britain prepares for the hottest day in nine years on Wednesday. Frank Augstein/AP Photo
    Thirty-year-old Maria, from Spain, enjoys the refreshment of the fountain in Southbank, London as Britain prepares for the hottest day in nine years on Wednesday. Frank Augstein/AP Photo
  • A couple sunbathing by Lake Geneva in Saint-Saphorin, Switzerland. Dominic Steinmann/EPA
    A couple sunbathing by Lake Geneva in Saint-Saphorin, Switzerland. Dominic Steinmann/EPA
  • People enjoying the sun in Soho Square on July 1, 2015 in London, England. Rob Stothard/Getty Images
    People enjoying the sun in Soho Square on July 1, 2015 in London, England. Rob Stothard/Getty Images
  • A boy jumping into the water to cool off from the heat at Grugabad open-air swimming pool on a hot summer day in Essen, Germany. Ina Fassbender/Reuters
    A boy jumping into the water to cool off from the heat at Grugabad open-air swimming pool on a hot summer day in Essen, Germany. Ina Fassbender/Reuters
  • People run through the water of Stachus Fountain to cool off on a hot summer day in Munich, Germany. Ina Fassbender/Reuters
    People run through the water of Stachus Fountain to cool off on a hot summer day in Munich, Germany. Ina Fassbender/Reuters

Blistering heatwave sweeps across Europe - in pictures


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A heatwave sweeping through Europe on Wednesday brought blackouts to France and fears of heat stroke for Wimbledon tennis fans, but meant a range of interesting ice creams for the continent’s zoo animals.