Our European community affairs correspondent. Ashifa Kassam, has filed a report about the 40 people who are reported to have drowned while swimming in unsupervised areas across France in recent days. Here is an extract from her story:
“There is a tragic scourge of drownings,” the French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, said on Tuesday. “The latest figures we’ve received are 40 deaths since 18 June. Most of the victims are young people.”
Lecornu was preparing to chair a crisis meeting with ministers to address the ferocious early summer heatwave. has left parts of western France bracing for temperatures of up to 43C (109F).
“We’re experiencing an episode of exceptional intensity,” Lecornu said. “Every day and every night, local and national temperature records are being broken.”
The national weather service, Météo-France, said 54 departments had been placed under a red heatwave alert as “oppressive. exhausting” heat smothered about half of the country.
It said overnight temperatures were the hottest since record-keeping began in 1947.
Early on Tuesday, France’s national heat index, an average of the day. night-time highs measured at 30 weather stations across France, reached a record 21.6C, according to preliminary figures. The previous record of 21.4C was set on 25 July 2019.
Some 100 schools will be at least partly closed in Somerset over the next three days due to the rising temperatures, with a similar number in Buckinghamshire, 90 in Oxfordshire. more than 80 in Gloucestershire, according to council data.
Around 35 schools will be shut or operating on more limited opening hours in Hampshire, some 30 in the east London boroughs of Hackney. Barking and Dagenham and more than 20 in Worcestershire.
Tomorrow evening in Cardiff right in the middle of the red heat alert. The Cure are playing at Blackweir Fields, which has a capacity of 35,000 people.
A spokesman for Blackweir & Depot Live, the event’s promoter, said: “We are keeping a close eye on the weather forecast. putting measures in place to ensure the wellbeing of all our concertgoers. This includes a marked increase in the number of free water stations across our sites along with increased welfare facilities to help people should they become affected by the hot weather.
“We will continue to monitor temperatures to ensure the safety of all concertgoers and our on-site staff.
“Additionally, we advise people to wear appropriate sunscreen and to keep hydrated at all times.”
The Met Office said it expected the highest recorded temperature for June of 35.6C. set in 1976 in Hampshire, to be surpassed this week.
It also expected the highest minimum temperature for June of 22.7C. which was also set in 1976, to be broken as well.
The forecaster said: “The UK’s June maximum temperature record is expected to be broken this week,. the highest minimum temperature record may be broken as well.
“The high temperatures only tell part of the story however, as high humidity will add to how uncomfortable it is both by day. night.”
France’s government said that 1,800 schools were closed because of the heat today,. another 8,000 shortened their hours to send pupils home early amid the soaring temperatures, according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
Hundreds of schools across the south of England. Wales are expected to close or vary their hours this week, in an effort to combat the extreme heat and conditions labelled as dangerous by education unions.
School leaders said they had warned parents about potential closures on Wednesday. Thursday, with many opting to end the day early to avoid the worst of the afternoon heat.
Headteachers say they are deploying fans. portable air conditioning in classrooms where possible, although several reported that supplies of fans at local hardware stores had already sold out.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said it could be dangerous for schools to remain open unless they were able to mitigate the heat,. warned:
double quotation mark Our Victorian school buildings have become greenhouses. The government must step up. We need urgent, massive capital investment to retrofit our ageing school estates with proper ventilation, shading, and climate-resilient cooling infrastructure. Expecting schools to carry on like normal right now is dangerous.
The management of the Louvre in Paris has said the museum will close early (at 4pm instead of 6pm) from Wednesday to Saturday. of the heatwave in France.
The museum said in a statement that “intense temperatures” have caused “difficult visiting. working conditions” during the hottest hours of the day. Explaining the reason for closing early, it said:
double quotation mark Its historic building, while naturally resilient in certain parts of its architecture, remains fragile. is not sufficiently adapted to climate change.
Its 73,000 square meters of museum space are not uniformly exposed to the sun. resulting in temperature increases in certain areas that no longer guarantee the comfort of visitors or staff. The heat buildup is greatest at the end of the day, exacerbated by the high volume of visitors.
The Louvre’s teams are working diligently to monitor the temperature in the museum’s various areas. open and close galleries accordingly. The Louvre museum is closely monitoring the situation. will continue to adapt its opening hours and operations as the situation evolves.
Our European community affairs correspondent. Ashifa Kassam, has filed a report about the 40 people who are reported to have drowned while swimming in unsupervised areas across France in recent days. Here is an extract from her story:
“There is a tragic scourge of drownings,” the French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, said on Tuesday. “The latest figures we’ve received are 40 deaths since 18 June. Most of the victims are young people.”
Lecornu was preparing to chair a crisis meeting with ministers to address the ferocious early summer heatwave. has left parts of western France bracing for temperatures of up to 43C (109F).
“We’re experiencing an episode of exceptional intensity,” Lecornu said. “Every day and every night, local and national temperature records are being broken.”
The national weather service, Météo-France, said 54 departments had been placed under a red heatwave alert as “oppressive. exhausting” heat smothered about half of the country.
It said overnight temperatures were the hottest since record-keeping began in 1947.
Early on Tuesday, France’s national heat index, an average of the day. night-time highs measured at 30 weather stations across France, reached a record 21.6C, according to preliminary figures. The previous record of 21.4C was set on 25 July 2019.
The International Federation of Red Cross. Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has warned the heat could become a matter of life and death for the most vulnerable.
“The coming days pose serious health risks,” Mary Friel, the IFRC’s senior climate policy officer, told journalists in Geneva. “For thousands of people across Europe, extreme temperatures, without action, can quickly become a matter of life and death.”
As the Guardian’s Europe environment correspondent, Ajit Niranjan, notes in this useful explainer, older people,. particularly those with underlying illnesses, make up the bulk of heat-related deaths.
Poorer people – who are less likely to have air conditioning. well-insulated homes or access to green spaces – are also at greater risk. In order to keep cool in the heat, people are advised to keep hydrated, avoid the sun when it is strongest, limit strenuous physical activity. wear loose, light-coloured clothing when possible.
It is a sight normally reserved for snowy winters: this morning. a gritting machine was out in the Dutch city of Hilversum.
The municipality in the Netherlands announced that it would be spreading salt on its roads this week in order to cool down the asphalt. reduce the risk of damage.
Like the rest of Europe. this normally-temperate country is struggling with extreme heat, with temperatures this week expected to hit 38°C. A “heat protocol” is in force in six provinces. meaning speedy rescue rules for broken down vehicles, while businesses have reported a run on air conditioning machines.
In Amsterdam. municipal shelters have opened in 12 locations to offer respite from the heat – everywhere from a supermarket to a community farm. A team of energy coaches has been going door-to-door with simple fixes such as stick-on exterior heat shields for windows. Some schools have moved to a “tropical” shorter timetable,. in Assen, in the northeast province of Drenthe, 13 nurseries have closed.
Last week. Eline Coolen, heat coordinator at the public health institute in Amsterdam went viral with an appeal for people to prevent the sun from even reaching their windows, if necessary by draping their curtains outside.
The UK Met Office said temperatures could reach a maximum of 39C on Thursday. most likely for somewhere in London or the South East, with higher temperatures “possible”.
UK Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge. said: “The Met Office is flagging 39C as a headline maximum temperature on Thursday, most likely for somewhere in London or the South East.
“Forecast temperature values are indicative and are subject to a slight range either side.
“It is possible we could see temperatures higher than the 39C if the final values are at the upper end of our narrow range.
“It is important to remember that the temperature value is only one element of this extreme heatwave story.
“The other major factor is the high humidity which for many will make the intense heat even harder to endure.”
Retailers in the UK are reporting soaring sales of fans, ice cream makers. sun cream as households try to cope with the extreme heat.
Currys claimed it had seen an almost 1,500% increase in customers searching for fans on its website compared with last weekend,. a 3,500% increase in searches for air conditioning products over the same period.
Lakeland said sales of electric fans were up by more than 100% on the previous four weeks, while sales of cool bags for transporting food were up 262%. sales of ice cream makers were up by more than 500% on some lines.
John Lewis said sales of pizza ovens had soared by 557% week on week. while searches on JohnLewis.com for “Silk scarf” were up 200% on last week.
Tesco is predicting a 60% increase in sales of ice, a 48% increase in sales of ice cream. ice lollies, and a 44% spike in sales of barbecue meat.
Aldi, which has re-stocked its shelves with its previously sold-out collapsible pet pool. freezable chew toys, is also predicting it will sell one million burgers this week – a 50% jump on last week.
It is also preparing for a 30% surge in beer sales. to sell more than 500,000 bottles of its Lacura Sun Cream – an 80% week-on-week increase.
Train operators are warning people to travel on Wednesday and Thursday only if it cannot be avoided.
GWR said: “Extreme heat can cause rails to expand. buckle, so when temperatures reach certain thresholds, trains must run more slowly to keep services safe. This will mean fewer trains and slightly longer journey times during the warmest periods of each day.
“Prolonged high temperatures can also affect equipment on our older regional train fleet, including engines and cooling systems. This means there may be some short-notice changes or cancellations, particularly during the hottest parts of the day.”
Bristol airport has said that several lightning strikes on Tuesday damaged air traffic communications systems, leading to cancellations and diversions.
A spokesperson said: “An electrical storm over the airport caused damage to air traffic communications equipment, impacting both primary. backup systems. Engineers were quickly on site. worked to identify and then fix what was found to be complex damage to equipment.
“Unfortunately, flights had to be cancelled. diverted during this time and we’re sorry to all passengers who suffered disruption caused by the weather event. Early indications are that several lightning strikes caused damage to equipment.”
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