Europe is suffering from another heatwave, France has shut down a nuclear reactor
Kyiv • UNN
In Spain and France, temperatures reach 39°C, while health risk warnings have been issued in England and Ireland. The heat has caused over 4,700 additional deaths in France, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Large parts of Western Europe are experiencing another extreme heatwave this summer, with temperatures of 30 degrees and above in Spain and France, reports The Guardian, writes UNN.
Details
As indicated, temperatures of 36-39°C were reported in some parts of Spain, while in southwestern France the heat reaches 37°C.
Yesterday in Barcelona, a maximum temperature of 40.7°C was recorded, the highest in 112 years of observations. Some stations in Spain recorded temperatures up to 44°C.
Today, a large part of France is under an "orange" extreme heat warning. In northern Italy, temperatures are also expected to rise to 36°C in Florence and Bologna.
High temperatures of 30 degrees and above are expected today and tomorrow in southern and southwestern England, with a public health risk warning issued. Another hot day is expected in London with temperatures up to 34°C.
A high temperature warning has also been issued for a dozen counties in the Republic of Ireland.
The heat is expected to continue into next week, and authorities are urging residents to look after vulnerable family members and friends, avoid prolonged sun exposure, and be cautious about wildfires.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated that over 300 fires were recorded across France on Wednesday, as the country continues to battle extreme temperatures and local wildfires. He also called on local authorities to cooperate with fire and rescue services to mobilize volunteer firefighters when necessary, reports Le Figaro.
The intense heat in Belgium caused significantly more deaths than usual in June — during the last heatwave, 1,747 excess deaths were recorded, health authorities said, revising preliminary data, marking the highest excess mortality rate since records began in 2000, reports AFP.
According to estimates from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), approximately 5,120 heat-related deaths have been recorded in Germany since the beginning of this year, most of them in late June when the average weekly temperature significantly exceeded 20 degrees Celsius, reports Reuters.
According to the RKI, most deaths — about 4,270 — occurred among people aged 75 and older. More women died than men, mainly because they make up a larger share of the elderly population.
National authorities, as Reuters notes, reported over 4,700 excess deaths in France, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands during the June heatwave — with the total in other countries likely to be higher.
Two-thirds of the European Union's population may have been exposed to harmful levels of ozone pollution during last month's record heatwave, a report exclusively published by AFP on Thursday warns.
According to a report by the non-governmental organization Global Witness, nearly 300 million people, including 100 million children and the elderly, faced levels of the toxic pollutant exceeding recommended limits during the exhausting heatwave in late June.
Extreme weather is also testing the continent's infrastructure; in particular, a reactor at the Golfech nuclear power plant near Toulouse in France was temporarily shut down due to the ongoing heat.
"The weather conditions of the past few days have led to a significant rise in the temperature of the [river] Garonne, which is expected to reach 28°C this Friday," said an EDF press release, as reported by AFP.
A second reactor at the plant was also shut down for maintenance, the statement said.