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Hundreds have been reported dead in Europe due to the sweltering weather that has hit countries such as the UK, France, Italy and more. ITV News Europe Editor James Mates reports from Bordeaux
France and Spain have been among the worst affected as the continent sweltered under a heat dome, a vast area of stagnant high pressure.
In Spain, 212 people have died due to the extreme heat over the past week, according to data from the country’s mortality monitoring system, MoMo.
At least 48 people have drowned in France, seeking relief from the record-breaking temperatures, including a 21-year-old French footballer with a second-division club.
Kenzo Kies, who played for the Guingamp reserve team, died after being pulled from the Rhone River this week.
Also in Frane, two brothers, aged two and four, were found dead in a car in the southeast of the country on Monday.
In a separate incident, a three-year-old boy was found dead in a car in the suburbs of Paris on Wednesday, when temperatures topped 40C.
In Italy, at least five heat-related deaths have been reported, including a vineyard worker, a farmhand and a homeless man, local media reported.
Three-quarters of France remained under a red alert until at least Friday after the country recorded its hottest day ever on Wednesday.
Germany’s warmest night record was equalled when the temperature did not go below 26.2 C in Bad Bergzabern, in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The heat is coming up from Africa, into Spain and France, and hitting northern European countries like the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands, which are unaccustomed to extreme temperatures.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
France introduced several extreme temperature measures after a heatwave in 2003 caused nearly 15,000 excess deaths, with the elderly the hardest hit.
Europe is the world’s fast-heating continent. Credit: AP
While temperatures in France, the UK and Spain were due to fall on Friday, Germany, Austria and Italy looked set for a scorching weekend.
Germany’s National Meteorological Service issued extreme heat warnings for a large area of western Germany, with temperatures expected to rise to 38 C on Thursday and 41 C on Friday and Saturday.
National rail operator Deutsche Bahn has offered customers the chance to cancel their journeys due to the heat.
Parts of Austria are under a red heat warning for the northeast of the country, including Vienna, with temperatures in the capital could hit a record 4 C.
This weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix has been designated a “heat hazard” as it’s likely to be over 31 C (87.8 F) on Sunday. As a result, drivers will be required to carry extra cooling equipment. This will be the first time these rules have been applied to a European F1 race, though they were only introduced a year ago.
The hottest conditions for Italy are also forecast between Saturday and Monday, with temperatures reaching up to 40 C — well above seasonal norms — particularly across northern plains and inland central areas.
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