National weather agency AEMET on Wednesday said that mainland Spain recorded its highest daily average temperatures in June since at least 1950. AFP reports.
Though temperatures are expected to drop in most of the country today. parts of the Basque country in the north will still be marked red. Temperatures were expected to hit 39.3C in Bilbao today.
A red extreme weather alert for France has been extended to 72 out of 96 French mainland departments tomorrow.
That’s three-quarters of the country, as per this map.
17 further areas will be on an orange alert.
Temperatures are “exceptionally high, both day and night, across the many departments under red alert,” Météo-France said.
Anna, a 50-year-old freelance translator living in Nantes, says the heatwave has forced her to abandon working from home. rent a co-working space in a local hotel with air conditioning.
“We’ve had temperatures over 40C for three days in a row, which never happened before,” she says. “It’s impossible to work where I live.
After struggling through an earlier heatwave in May. Anna drew up a list of air-conditioned co-working spaces she could use in future.
“It was too much. It was too difficult. Your brain is not working properly in that heat and I need my brain. That’s what I work with.”
Because there is no air conditioning on local public transport, Anna has been relying on taxis to travel between home, work. medical appointments.
“In three days I’ve spent around €250 on heat-related expenses,” she says. “If it were not for the heatwave, I wouldn’t have paid any of those costs.”
Anna, who has a chronic health condition. is due to spend a night in hospital this week, is particularly concerned about the lack of air conditioning in healthcare settings.
“There is no air conditioning in the university hospital apart from the operating theatres,” she says. “They can give you a fan, but at 40C outside it’s not going to cut it.”
Scotland has recorded its hottest day of the year. with temperatures reaching a high of 29.4C at Dyce in Aberdeen on Tuesday, PA reports.
Temperatures at Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire hit a high of 29C on the same day. reached 28.7C at Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, Leuchars in Fife and Edinburgh.
National weather agency AEMET on Wednesday said that mainland Spain recorded its highest daily average temperatures in June since at least 1950. AFP reports.
Though temperatures are expected to drop in most of the country today. parts of the Basque country in the north will still be marked red. Temperatures were expected to hit 39.3C in Bilbao today.
A London School of Economics event on extreme heat has been cancelled – because of the extreme heat.
“We regret. this event has been cancelled due to the red extreme heat warning issued by the UK Met Office,” the event page reads.
Education correspondent
Hundreds of schools in England have closed or are closing early due to the heat this week,. the education secretary has urged parents to continue sending their children to school if it is open.
As the UK continued to swelter in heatwave conditions, Bridget Phillipson reminded parents about the cost of missed lessons. school absence, which the government has been grappling with since Covid.
She said: “I know hot weather can be a struggle. But my message to families is simple: if your child’s school is open, you should keep sending them into school.”
“ Teachers are relaxing uniform rules, keeping classrooms cool, making sure children are hydrated, teaching critical skills like water safety,. avoiding vigorous activity on the hottest days.
If your child has medical needs which mean you’re especially worried about the heat. talk to your school about what they can do.
Every day of absence. lesson missed has a cost – and that cost falls hardest on our most disadvantaged pupils and working class communities. So, pack a water bottle, put on the sunscreen, and trust that your child’s school has got this.”
As we go into later afternoon on the continent, Nantes and Bordeaux are now both in the 40s. Paris is reporting 39C, as is Toulouse.
Let us know how you are coping with the extreme weather and how is it affecting you.
In these extreme temperatures, please do remember to stay hydrated.
Here is Pope Leo leading by example. drinking a glass of water at the end of his weekly general audience.
Over in the UK. as the country faces breaking temperature records for June that have stood for 50 years since the summer of 1976, campaigners have called for the next Prime Minister to “stay the course” on climate policies, PA reported.
Greenpeace UK’s political campaigner Angharad Hopkinson said:
“The summer of ’76 may be seared into the nation’s memory,. it’s quickly being overtaken by even more terrifying heatwaves.
The only way off this hellish treadmill is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
Our next prime minister needs to act on the evidence outside their window. the advice of their scientific advisors and stay the course on climate policies.”
A heatwave sweeping western Europe reduced France’s nuclear output on Wednesday as high temperatures across the country reduced access to water needed to cool reactors. Reuters reported.
Output was reduced by 4.1 gigawatts, or 7%, of total power demand at midday, data from French utility EDF showed.
The French city of Nantes is currently one of the – if not the – hottest places in Europe. reporting 41C.
It’s 39.3C in Bordeaux and Bilbao across the border in Spain, 37C in Toulouse, and 37C in Paris.
German city of Stuttgart is reporting above 33C, as is the British capital, London.
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