PARIS — Joggers wheezed, electric wires warped and Britain sweated through its hottest July day on record as a wide swath of Western Europe sweltered in a heat wave.

Authorities in France and elsewhere, mindful that thousands died during a 2003 heat wave, reached out to the elderly, families and other vulnerable people on Wednesday to warn of health risks. Paris officials opened special air-conditioned rooms for the public.

France’s Seine River offers some relief to Parisians as a mass of hot air moving north from Africa has Spain, Portugal, Britain and France baking. The Associated Press

A mass of hot air moving north from Africa has sent temperatures spiking in Spain, Portugal, Britain and France.

Britain’s Met Office, the weather forecasting service, said Wednesday was the hottest July day since records began in the 1800s based on the 98 Fahrenheit recorded at London’s Heathrow airport.

At Wimbledon, even Australian Bernard Tomic complained of dizzying heat.

Forecaster Meteo France said Paris reached 103.46, the highest temperature recorded in July since 1947.

At Disneyland Paris, Mickey and Minnie and the gang got more frequent breaks. Cast members who don the costumes of the famed characters saw their on-stage rotations shrunk by a third to 5 minutes at a time.

France’s national railway operator said the soaring heat had caused a disruption in and out of Paris’ Saint-Lazare station. The Energy Ministry reported some overnight electricity outages and fires as a result of swooning temperatures.

At Paris’ Gare de Lyon train station, public announcements repeatedly reminded people to drink lots of water and not over-exert themselves. Medics were on call.

French officials said the heat wave was just beginning. On Tuesday, southwest France saw temperatures reaching 107 and Cordoba in southern Spain recorded nearly 111.

“We have a lot of heat-wave days ahead of us,” Gourand said, noting that a wide swath of southern France from Toulouse to Lyon was facing heat of up to 105 until the middle of next week.

Climate is on many French minds for another reason. Paris is hosting a major international climate conference in December that will aim to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Spanish authorities said the past week brought record June temperatures, with Madrid coming close to 104.

Portugal, which is bracing for a challenging forest fire season, had the hottest, driest June for 12 years.

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