Half of France is set to be placed on “red alert” for Monday as temperatures climb beyond 40 degrees Celsius across mainland Europe.
France has already put emergency services and military forces on bushfire alert, restricted public alcohol consumption and cancelled some outdoor sports events over the weekend to cope with the major heatwave unfurling across the continent.
Temperatures in parts of the country topped 40C on Sunday, with predictions the mercury will go even higher on Monday, in another European heatwave that scientists say are becoming more extreme because of human-induced climate change.
The Eiffel Tower and other Paris venues set up misting stations to cool crowds, among a raft of measures announced by national and local authorities to minimise risks. Tourists in Rome sought relief in fountains.
Some French trains were cancelled, and the national rail authority dispatched thousands of extra staff to deal with potential problems as the heat threatened rails and electrical cables.
France is stepping up monitoring of its nuclear power plants amid the sweltering conditions. (Reuters: Stephanie Lecocq)
Authorities are notably worried about people living in the baking streets, and elderly people in nursing homes or isolated in their homes.
About 15,000 older people died in France in a 2003 heatwave that became a national reckoning.
The government announced reinforced wildfire readiness and ordered tightened surveillance of water supplies to France’s many nuclear reactors, and directed 845 schools to close on Monday.
Extreme heat increasingly common
More than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes over the past four years, and most of the fatalities were preventable, the World Health Organization’s Europe office said this month.
More above-average temperatures are expected this summer, which can cause heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke.
Human-caused climate change is tied to increasing extreme weather events and UN climate agency projections say the next five years should shatter more heat records.
A rapid study found that human-caused climate change was responsible for killing about 1,500 people in an unusually early European heatwave last month.
In this latest European hot spell, French media reported that four children drowned on Saturday as citizens flocked to beaches, pools and other waterways to keep cool.
Spain, Italy, Germany and UK brace for heat
Spain kicked off the summer with large parts of the country on alert due to temperatures expected to hover around 40C (104F) — even in the interior of Basque Country, a northern region that typically experiences cooler temperatures.
Authorities have suspended outdoor sports and cultural activities in the region. The heatwave is expected to scorch Spain at least through Wednesday.
In Italy, authorities expanded heat warnings — referred to locally as “red flags” — to eight cities on Sunday in northern and central parts of the country.
The UK’s meteorological agency is issuing heatwave warnings for parts of the country. (AP: Kin Cheung)
Temperatures there are mostly in the upper-30s. Thunderstorms also threatened several regions.
In Germany, temperatures are soaring into the mid-30s.
A 23-year-old man drowned on Saturday in a lake near Rheinstetten in the south-western region of Baden-Württemberg, the German news agency dpa reported.
Three other people are missing after swimming in the Rhine River, which has strong currents, a police spokeswoman told dpa.
The UK’s weather office issued an “extreme heat” warning for much of southern England and parts of Wales on Monday and Tuesday, saying temperatures could exceed 35C.
The current record for a June day is 35.6C, reached in 1976.
AP/AFP
