Forty drown in France as people seek relief from heatwave

PARIS – Forty people have drowned while swimming in unsupervised areas in France since the weekend, the prime minister said on June 23, as people tried to escape a heatwave sweeping across much of Europe.

Britain, Italy and Spain are also sweltering in extreme heat, with record temperatures in some regions disrupting schools and transport networks.

Europe is warming at more than twice the global average, according to the World Meteorological Organization, making such prolonged heat episodes increasingly likely.

Heat alert across France

Much of France is under severe heat alert and set to experience temperatures around 40 deg C on June 23, Meteo France said, with temperatures of up to 43 deg C expected in some parts of western France.

The country has just recorded its hottest afternoon and night since records began in 1947. Fifty-four departments are under red alert in what forecasters described as unprecedented.

Across France, youngsters and others have been jumping into canals and rivers to cool off. French sports minister Marina Ferrari said she understood the urge to escape the heat but warned against swimming in unauthorised or dangerous areas.

Speaking ahead of an emergency meeting on the heatwave, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said: “A sad scourge when it comes to drownings, as the latest figures just reported to us show 40 deaths since June 18, most of them young people.”

On June 22, first responders were unable to resuscitate two children, aged two and four, who were found unconscious by their mother in the family car outside their home, said a prosecutor in Carpentras, south-east France.

Business activity slows

In Paris, people on their way to work were visibly suffering from the heat, many carrying fans in the metro, after often broken nights due to sweltering temperatures in apartments ill-equipped for heat. Some trains were cancelled, including between Paris and Brussels.

Business leaders said the economy was also taking a hit.

“France is running at a slow pace. Businesses, as far as possible, are implementing recommendations to protect their employees,” the head of France’s MEDEF employers group, Patrick Martin, told BFM TV.

In several places across Paris, shops had run out of electric fans amid surging demand.

Britain, Italy, Spain, Belgium also hit by heatwave

The heatwave is driven by a weather pattern known as an Omega block, because it takes the shape of the Greek letter, with a bulge of hot air in the middle and cooler air either side, allowing temperatures to build day after day.

Heatwaves and storms are being intensified by climate change, pushing temperatures higher and causing more rainfall.

In Italy, the health ministry issued its highest level alert for 15 cities and authorities took measures to curtail work. Storms are expected later on June 23 over the Alps and Apennines, bringing heavy rain, gusty winds and hail.

Britain is also in the grip of the heat, with the Met Office forecasting temperatures of up to 37 deg C in southern England on June 23 – potentially a new June record – before rising further on June 24 and 25.

Dozens of schools have said they will close early, due to old buildings not being suitable for classrooms with more than 30 children in.

Climate shelters

Spain’s state meteorological agency has issued red alerts across parts of the country, warning of dangerous heat with temperatures expected to reach 44 deg C. The warnings follow an already extreme day on June 22, including a peak above 45 deg C in Andujar.

Nighttime has brought little relief, with around 30 monitoring stations still recording temperatures above 25 deg C early on June 23.

Madrid has opened climate shelters for vulnerable people, including the homeless. The shelters would “provide a climate-controlled environment, offer basic food, allow visitors to take a shower, and give them a chance to rest for a while”, said Juan Carlos Arellano of Madrid’s Samur Social.

In Belgium, soaring temperatures forced a primary school in Tervuren, near Brussels, to relocate its final exams to a nearby church.

“Too hot in the classroom, then we’ll do the exams in the church,” the school wrote on its Instagram, posting footage of pupils taking their tests from rows of church chairs.

Disruption to transport

Transport networks across Europe came under strain. Britain’s Network Rail warned passengers to travel only if necessary later this week as temperatures approach 39 deg C, with speed restrictions likely to disrupt services.

In London, overnight thunderstorms – part of the same volatile weather pattern – caused further disruption, including at Heathrow Airport. REUTERS