As Europe continues to endure an intense heatwave, hospitals in France and the United Kingdom have become overwhelmed, while Spain reported on Thursday that the extreme heat claimed more than 200 lives in just four days.
Other countries affected by the scorching temperatures have also reported numerous heat-related deaths, including several children who died after being left in overheated vehicles.
While temperatures have eased slightly in parts of Western Europe, countries across Central and Eastern Europe warned that the worst of the heatwave is still to come. Meteorological services in the Czech Republic and Hungary forecast temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius over the weekend.
Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), said the extreme weather is being driven by a “heat dome” – a mass of hot air from North Africa trapped beneath a high-pressure system.
According to AFP calculations based on weather forecasts, at least 150 million people across Europe are expected to experience temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius on Thursday, while more than 420 million people across Europe, excluding Türkiye, will face temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius.
London’s Ambulance Service reported that Wednesday saw the highest number of life-threatening emergency calls linked to extreme heat ever recorded in a single day.
In France, the number of heat-related visits to emergency departments quadrupled, while cases of cardiac arrest also rose sharply, the Health Ministry said.
“We are approaching the limits of hospital capacity,” the Paris police chief warned, announcing a ban on evening alcohol sales in the French capital over the weekend.
Paris has also postponed its Pride parade, originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
Police said the event would be banned unless organisers agreed to postpone it. One of the organisers stated that the parade could instead take place in September, although no final decision has yet been made.
Several other large public events planned for the weekend in Paris have also been cancelled, while the Pride march scheduled for Saturday in Lyon has likewise been called off.
Italian authorities have expressed concern that critically low water levels in the Po River could lead to drought conditions, while the country’s highest heat alert has been issued in 18 Italian cities.
The Netherlands has issued its highest-level heat warning across most of the country, with authorities urging residents to avoid unnecessary travel. Most schools have also been closed.
Numerous outdoor festivals and other public events have also been cancelled in both the Netherlands and Germany because of the extreme heat.
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