Our European environment correspondent Ajit Niranjan answers your questions on the climate after reporting on the shocking heatwave that continues to scorch its way across Europe, covering everything from the lack of preparation to ways to deal with the heatMagpie74 asks: Which countries that you have reported from – that might not be historically used to extreme heat – have made the best efforts to mitigate it? And what has the response been like to the heat where you are based?Ajit: One of my favourite solutions is in Denmark, where 1,700 volunteers at a senior citizens association take turns calling up older people for welfare checks. The system has been running for decades and, while it wasn’t set up to deal with extreme heat, it is a powerful way to deal with one of the biggest health effects of hot weather. Older people are massively overrepresented in heat-related death tolls. Perhaps the single most powerful piece of advice in a heatwave is to check in on people who live alone.Here in Berlin, which hit 39C both days this weekend, the response has been mixed. On the way home from an air-conditioned museum I visited with friends on Saturday, we saw the police deploy riot control water cannon to cool people down as the city broke its temperature record. Shortly after, we passed a group of men on a “beer cycle tour” who were drinking alcohol while cycling around in the baking heat. There are many aspects of climate breakdown that may leave you feeling hopeless, but there are also plenty of things we have agency over. Continue reading...