Europe heatwave: How different countries are affected

PARIS - France banned alcohol in red-alert areas on June 21, Spain and Germany cancelled or postponed sports events and Britain warned of “tropical nights” as Europe sweltered through a heatwave threatening to break June temperature records.

Less than a month after a May heatwave that set records in several European countries, the continent is facing a new bout of extreme weather, with temperatures set to rise even further in coming days.

Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming, primarily caused by burning coal, oil and gas – and warn they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.

Here is a round-up of the impacts as the latest heatwave starts in Europe.

France went ahead with its annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique, despite the heat, but the Louvre museum in Paris scrapped a free concert under its famous glass pyramid.

But the government announced a ban on alcohol consumption in public places during the festivities in departments under red alert on both health and public order grounds.

In some parts of the country, temperatures had already passed the 40-degree mark, with 42.2 degrees recorded in Pissos, in the south-west Landes region.

The authorities placed a record 35 departments – roughly a third of the country – on red alert. That will rise on June 22 to 49 of France’s 96 mainland departments, or half the country, the national weather service said.

In Paris, city officials authorised swimming in the Canal Saint-Martin, so residents could cool off.

Organisers suspended the final of the Berlin Open tennis tournament and cleared everyone out of the event location because of severe thunderstorms. The match finally resumed six hours later.

The mercury in the German capital topped 30 deg C across the weekend, with storms sweeping across much of the region on June 21.

Temperatures in Belgium – already past 30 deg C on June 21 – are expected to be “the hottest ever recorded” there next week, warned David Dehenauw, head of forecasting at the IRM meteorological institute.

The national rail company SNCB announced that some rush hour trains had been cancelled for June 22 and 23 to reduce the risk of breakdowns blocking the tracks.

In Spain, the public screening in Madrid of the national football team’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia was cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the capital, officials said.

Spain declared its first official heatwave of the year from June 21 to 24, with temperatures forecast to reach 44 deg C in some areas.

In Spain and neighbouring Portugal, people swarmed beaches in giant crowds, braved the streets clutching hand-held fans or used umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun as the weekend turned scorchingly hot.

The Swiss weather service warned of a “strong heatwave” bringing temperatures of up to 37 deg C, with alerts in lower-altitude regions, and said it was unclear when it would end.

Orange weather alerts for high temperatures were predicted for parts of Croatia and Serbia in the coming days, with temperatures reaching 35 deg C.

Croatian authorities issued health recommendations for coping with extreme heat, while North Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro also braced for extreme temperatures.

Britain’s weather service issued amber warnings for extreme heat from June 21 to 25, with temperatures expected to reach 38 deg C in England and Wales in the coming days.

“Overnight temperatures will also be very high, with widespread tropical nights, where the temperature does not drop below 20 deg C, across southern parts of England,” the Met Office said.

Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, said this week will bring “an unprecedented heatwave with temperatures likely to reach 38 to 39 deg C”, surpassing the June temperature record of 35.6 deg C.

“This will lead to two consecutive months, May and June, in which the UK temperature records have been annihilated by well over 2 deg C,” Bentley said.

“We are looking at an intense and record-breaking spell of heat with widespread impacts on public health, infrastructure and essential services,” said Akshay Deoras, a research scientist at the meteorology department in Britain’s University of Reading. AFP