A boy cools off outside the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum in Spain’s Basque Country on Tuesday as temperatures soared to 104 degrees Farenheit. Average highs for June in the Bilboa metro area are normally in the low 70s Fahrenheit. Photo by Miguel Tona/EPA
Europe was bracing Tuesday for record-breaking June temperatures of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit over the coming days with Red “threat to life” alerts issued for France, Spain and other western and central European countries. Parts of Britain are under similar warnings.
The French meteorological administration said the most severe level weather warning was in place for more than half of the country’s 13 regions, with hundreds of schools shut after temperatures topped 107 degrees Fahrenheit in Bordeaux on Monday, breaking the previous record for the southwestern wine region set in August.
Poitiers, 140 miles northeast of Bordeaux, saw its hottest June day in almost eight decades.
At least 18 deaths have been blamed on the heatwave, including two children, two and four years old, who died in a parked car in Carpentras in the south of the country on Monday. The children were believed to have become trapped after climbing into the vehicle without their mother knowing.
The number of schools closing was set to rise to almost 2,700 as the temperature continues to rise through the week.
Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Luxembourg were also under similar danger-to-life warnings. Five people in Germany were killed in outdoor swimming incidents at the weekend.
Forecasters warned the heat wave could be one of the most persistent in recent history, saying it was being driven by a dome of hot air above affected areas that was being trapped by a weather pattern continually delivering more hot air from the Sahara Desert, 2,400 miles to the south.
In Spain, the Aemet weather service issued an “extremely high” temperatures alert warning of 111 degrees Fahrenheit heat in some areas. Summer in southern and central Spain is very hot and dry but Aemet said highs even in the normally comfortable San Sebastian coastal region in the north could hit 104 degrees Fareneheit, far above average daytime temperature for this time of around 68-70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Britain’s Met Office issued an “Extreme heat Red warning” for the first time in four years for London, southern and central England and much of Wales due to go into force Wednesday morning through Thursday night.
Temperatures could hit 104 F in some areas on Thursday which would be the highest level recorded for June in 50 years. The current record set in a long heatwave in June 1976 was 93 F.
The Met Office warned the hot weather posed the risk of serious illness or death even for healthy people not normally regarded as vulnerable, with the impacts of the heat made worse by high humidity.
It warned Britons to expect “significant disruption” to daily life, including travel and schooling.
In Italy, authorities issued red heat warnings for Milan, Turin, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome and six other cities after a run of 95 degrees Farenheit-plus days.
“Severe regional weather systems” were also being blamed for severe air travel disruption on the continent with hundreds of passengers stranded at major airports in the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and other countries after more than 2,800 flights were delayed and more than 100 canceled.
National rail companies in France and Britain issued warnings of disruption to train services. France’s SNCF and Britain’s Network Rail both advised against all but essential journeys to, from or within the worst heat-affected areas of their respective countries.
On Wednesday and Thursday , as the most extreme conditions are expected, passengers travelling to, from or within the red weather warning areas should only travel if absolutely necessary — while passengers outside those areas should continue to check travel plans carefully, Network Rail said in a news release.
“Trains will run but significant disruption is expected, with speed restrictions, amended timetables and a higher risk of delays and cancellations,” added Network Rail.
Historic June moments through the years
Troops in landing craft approach Omaha Beach on D-Day in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. D-Day was the largest seaborne invasion in history and turned the tide of World War II. Photo by UPI | License Photo
