Record heatwave disrupts Europe as France warns death toll set to rise

PARIS – Temperatures were forecast to reach 40 deg C in parts of Europe on June 28 as storms moved into other areas, with France reporting 1,000 excess deaths during the record-breaking heatwave.

The French public health agency said most of the heat-related fatalities involved older people, warning that the number was expected to rise as more information became available about deaths in residential care and private homes.

Scientists have said the heatwave, which began on June 20, was ‌the worst recorded in Europe, and the blistering conditions have disrupted power generation, damaged infrastructure and overwhelmed healthcare systems.

“Right now, 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling,” World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

“Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the ‘once-in-a-generation’ heatwave is now occurring nearly annually. We were warned,” he wrote, adding that Europe’s homes, workplaces and schools were ill-equipped for extreme heat.

The heatwave would have been “virtually ‌impossible” without human-caused climate change, which has made this week’s soaring night-time temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been just two decades ago, according to scientists.

Temperatures were forecast to near or top 40 deg C in Germany, Poland and Italy, while storms broke out in parts of France, causing further disruption to travel and power supplies.

In Germany, train services were reduced on a major rail line in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia and trams were suspended in the eastern city of Leipzig. Many people hunkered down at home, reluctant to go outside until the sun went down, local media reported.

In Rome, Pope Leo thanked worshippers for attending Sunday prayer at Saint Peter’s Square despite the sweltering conditions.

The extreme heat has also affected Europe’s rivers, depleting and warming their waters, and causing problems for electricity generation and agriculture.

Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant will likely need to reduce output again on June 28 due to the high temperature of the Danube River that it uses as a coolant, the government said.

In Italy, the flow of the Po has dwindled, allowing seawater to advance as far as 18km inland and raising fears for agriculture and protected wetlands in the river delta.

Dozens of people seeking relief from the heat are reported to have drowned.

In Italy, rescuers were searching for the husband of Cabinet Minister Eugenia Roccella, who went missing on June 27 while swimming in Lake Vico, 70km from the capital, Rome.

Thunderstorms could hit parts of France and Germany over the next day or two, with cooler weather forecast in much of Western Europe this week as the heatwave moves deeper into Central Europe and the Balkans, meteorologists say.

A person shelters under an umbrella by the Eiffel Tower amid a heatwave in Paris. PHOTO: REUTERS

France’s weather agency said the extreme heat has diminished in most parts of the country, but some areas in the north-east are still subject to a heat advisory.

Health Minister Stephanie Rist told La Tribune newspaper the impact of the heatwave could linger for as long as 10 days after the weather has ebbed.

“The episode is not finished,” she told broadcaster BFM.

The storms that battered portions of France late on June 27 brought in some cooler air, but they led to power outages for thousands of households.

Some 36,000 households in northern and central France were without power, electricity provider Enedis said in an update. REUTERS