Forty people have drowned in France over the past days as they sought to cool down to escape record heat, the prime minister said on Tuesday, as a heatwave swept across much of Europe.
Speaking ahead of an emergency meeting on the heatwave, Sebastien Lecornu said: “A sad scourge when it comes to drownings, as the latest figures just reported to us show 40 deaths since 18 June, most of them young people.”
Across France, people have been jumping into canals and rivers to cool off. Sports minister Marina Ferrari said she understood the urge to escape the heat but warned against swimming in unauthorised or dangerous areas.
Much of France is under a severe heat alert and set to experience temperatures around 40C (104F) on Tuesday, Meteo France said, with temperatures of up to 43C 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.
On Monday, first responders were unable to resuscitate two children, aged 2 and 4, who were found unconscious by their mother in the family car outside their home, said a prosecutor in Carpentras, southeast France.
Three elderly people died in separate incidents in the Bordeaux region from health issues caused by the heatwave over the weekend.
Britain, Italy and Spain were 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 Organisation, making such prolonged heat episodes increasingly likely.
In Paris, commuters struggled through sweltering conditions after sleepless nights in apartments ill-equipped to handle the 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.
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 Tuesday over the Alps and Apennines, bringing heavy rain, gusty winds and hail.
Spain’s meteorological agency has issued red alerts across parts of the country, warning of dangerous heat with temperatures expected to reach 44C. The warnings follow an already extreme day on Monday, including a peak above 45C in Andujar.
Nighttime has brought little relief, with around 30 monitoring stations still recording temperatures above 25C early on Tuesday.
