PARIS, June 22 — Three people died in France from health issues caused by extreme heat and almost 2,700 French schools were set to close or modify timetables as authorities across Europe issued heatwave warnings today.
Temperatures in Bordeaux in southwestern France were forecast to exceed 42ºC today and weather agency Meteo France said 49 regional administrative areas will be under a red heatwave warning.
“We’re heading for, at the very least, several days of very, very hot weather. We don’t know when temperatures will start falling,” French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on TV channel TF1.
Three elderly people, aged between 80 and 95, died over the weekend in Bordeaux as a result of health issues caused by the current heatwave in France, local government official Sophie Brocas told France TV late yesterday.
In Spain, state weather agency Aemet issued a red alert for the Basque country, in the normally cooler north of the country, with the mercury in San Sebastian set to rise to a high of 40ºC, more than double its historic average for June 22, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.
San Sebastian is set to be hotter than the southern cities of Seville and Cordoba, which normally record the country’s most intense summer heat.
“We are seeing temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees above normal for this time of year, and in some northern areas even more than 10 degrees above average,” said Rubén del Campo, spokesperson for Aemet.
Little relief at night
The night was providing little relief in some parts of Spain, with temperatures failing to drop below 25ºC or even 30ºC in places like the southwestern province of Almeria, Aemet said.
Europe today was the continent furthest from its historic norm, with an average high temperature of 24ºC, which is 4.1ºC above what was typical from 1961-1990, according to the climate monitor. By comparison, Asia and North America are 2ºC and 1.3ºC above the historic norm.
Wildlife shelters in northern Europe were struggling to cope with the number of animals being brought in suffering from the heat. Birds such as swifts, swallows, sparrows and starlings, which make their nests in the eaves of roofs, have been particularly affected by abnormally high temperatures, said Romaine de Jaegere, a biologist and founder of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of Animals Living in the Wild (Creaves) wildlife refuge in Temploux in Belgium.
“Temperatures on the roofs can sometimes reach 50, even 60ºC. So they prefer to jump rather than let themselves die and literally cook in their nests,” De Jaegere told Reuters, adding that the shelter had received 150 animals in the last three days.
Spain’s Labour Ministry today said it is monitoring whether companies are complying with laws that allow workers to reduce or adjust their working hours when orange or red weather alerts are issued. Workers are also entitled to up to four days of paid leave if they are unable to reach their workplace due to weather conditions, it said.
