UK sets new June temperature record as Europe’s deadly heatwave maintains its grip
Written by: Dominique Vidalon and Sam Tabahriti
PARIS/LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) – Britain hit a record high temperature for June on Thursday, as much of Western Europe was reeling from a deadly early summer heatwave that killed dozens of people, disrupted power supplies and closed schools and cultural venues.
French and British officials have warned busy people to adapt their daily routines to avoid the risk of overheating. France has launched health care mobilization at the highest level; This means non-urgent operations may be canceled to focus on caring for those affected by the hot weather.
Paris endured another sweltering day after temperatures in the French capital reached a June record of 40.9 degrees Celsius (105.6 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.
Temperatures reached 36.4C in south-west England on Thursday, making it provisionally the warmest June day on record in Britain, beating the record set just a day earlier, the Met Office said on channel X.
Britain’s Met Office has extended its wide-area red temperature alert until Friday; This is the first time such warnings have been issued for three consecutive days. A similar warning was issued for the Netherlands on Friday.
“There is likely to be significant disruption to daily life and the public should make every effort to adapt their daily routines to cope with these levels of heat, which have so far been extremely rare for the UK,” said Andy Page, chief meteorologist at the Met Office.
DROWNING DEATHS IN FRANCE AND GERMANY
France has introduced a number of measures against heat waves; One of the heat waves in 2003 caused nearly 15,000 deaths, with the elderly being the hardest hit.
Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said this time active young people were a big concern.
“Rather, there are people between the ages of 50 and 70 who are in good general health but think that this is a normal period and continue their normal activities as if nothing has changed. Really protect yourself,” the broadcaster told TF1.
Authorities say at least 48 people have drowned while trying to cool off in France since the beginning of the heat wave, and three young children are known to have died in two separate incidents due to the heat in cars.
More than 20 people have died in swimming-related accidents across Germany since the end of last week, the German Lifesaving Association said in a statement to Reuters.
In Italy, media reported that five people died due to heat-related incidents on Wednesday.
The heatwave, which is expected to reach its peak in the next three days, could endanger the health of up to 1.5 million Italian workers, including builders, farmers and couriers, according to forecasts by the Italian union CGIL and Greenpeace Italy.
Many regions have banned outdoor work during the hottest parts of the day, and the government this week said firms forced to pause work due to the heat could access funds for furloughed staff.
AIR CONDITIONING ON DEMAND
Changes introduced in France since the 2003 heatwave included regular checks on the elderly and offering nursing home residents the chance to spend several hours a day in an air-conditioned room.
Air conditioning remains relatively rare in Europe, but Asian air conditioning manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics in South Korea, Midea in China and Mitsubishi Electric in Japan are experiencing a boom in sales thanks to strong demand from countries such as France, Spain and Italy.
The heatwave is being driven by a weather pattern known as the Omega block, pushing temperatures up to 18C above normal, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.
This phenomenon resembles the shape of the Greek letter Omega; A bulbous center traps heat in areas for long periods of time, with cooler air at its fringes. Heat waves and storms are intensifying due to climate change.
“Europe’s brutal heatwave has traces of the climate crisis everywhere – it is the latest price to be paid for fossil fuel pollution scorching our planet,” UN climate chief Simon Stiell said.
“Schools are closing, the vulnerable are dying, economies are sweating: this is what the climate crisis looks like in practice, and it’s just getting started,” he added.
SCHOOL CHILDREN AND TEACHERS ARE STRUGGLE DUE TO THE HEAT
French Education Minister Edouard Geffray said Thursday that 13,500 schools were closed or placed on special programs.
More than 1,000 schools in Britain have either closed or been partially closed as temperatures in some classrooms rose above 40 degrees. Officials are concerned about extreme heat in treeless playgrounds, with the end of the school term still several weeks away for many.
American tourist Keaghan Cronin, who was playing in the fountains with his children in Paris, said that it was “a beautiful place, but it was very hot.”
“They (the children) are very uncomfortable. We’re actually going to leave a little early, because it’s very hot, we’re going to leave Paris early,” he said.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Makini Brice and Ingrid Melander in Paris, Sarah Young and Sam Tabahriti in London, Charlotte van Campenhout and Bart Meijer in Amsterdam, Francois Murphy, Alvise Armellini, Giselda Vagnoni and Matthias Williams in Vienna; Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Alison Williams)
