Temperature departures from average on Thursday, showing the scorching heat across Western Europe. (Weatherbell.com) (This article has been updated) A historic heat wave is bringing unprecedented temperatures to Western Europe, and is poised to expand northeastward to Scandinavia and into the Arctic by late this weekend. Once above the Arctic Circle, the weather system responsible for this heat wave could accelerate the loss of sea ice, which is already running at a record low for this time of year. First, residents of Paris, London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Munich, Zurich and other locations are suffering through dangerously high temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday. Already on Wednesday, all-time national heat records in the Netherlands , Belgium and Germany had fallen, right on the heels of a late June heat wave that broke similar records in France and other countries. The German meteorological agency noted that Wednesday’s national record of 104.9 degrees (40.5 […]