Temperatures are reaching 40 degrees in some areas of Europe again this Sunday, as storms moved in after a horror movie Saturday. France has reported more than 1,000 additional deaths during this unprecedented heat wave in the area.
The French public health agency said the majority of heat-related deaths were among older people and warned that the number was expected to rise as more information becomes available on deaths in nursing homes and private homes.
Scientists have said the heatwave, which began on June 20, was the worst on record in Europe, and the extreme conditions have disrupted power generation, damaged infrastructure and collapsed health systems.
“Right now, 150 million people are living in extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are closed and power grids are collapsing,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Platform X.
“Driven by climate change and global warming, the ‘once in a generation’ heat wave phenomenon is now occurring almost annually. We had been warned,” the Ethiopian doctor wrote, adding that Europe’s homes, workplaces and schools were unprepared for the extreme heat.
The heat wave would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, which has made this week’s high nighttime temperatures 100 times more likely than just two decades ago, according to scientists.
Transport and electricity damage
Temperatures broke records in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland, while storms broke out in parts of France and Belgium, causing further disruptions to transport and power supplies.
In Germany, rail services were reduced on a major line in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia and tram service was suspended in the eastern city of Leipzig. Many people stayed home, reluctant to go out until nightfall, local media reported.
In Rome, Pope Leo XIII thanked the faithful for attending Sunday prayers in St. Peter’s Square despite the stifling heat.
Extreme heat has also affected Europe’s rivers, reducing their flow and warming their waters, causing problems for electricity generation and agriculture.
Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant reduced its production again on Sunday due to the high temperature of the Danube River, which it uses as a coolant, the government said.
In Italy, the flow of the Po has decreased, allowing seawater to move up to 18 km inland and raising concerns for agriculture and protected wetlands in the river delta.
Dozens of people are reported to have drowned while seeking relief from the heat.
In Italy, rescuers were searching for the husband of Minister Eugenia Roccella, who disappeared on Saturday while swimming in Lake Vico, 70 km from the capital, Rome.
Truce for France
Czech authorities urged the population to avoid physical activity and issued air pollution alerts in the center and north of the country due to high levels of ground-level ozone caused by the heat.
Thunderstorms are forecast in parts of France, Germany and the Czech Republic over the next few days, with temperatures plunging across much of Western Europe this week as the heatwave spreads across Central Europe and the Balkans, forecasters say.
The French meteorological agency reported that extreme heat had subsided in most of the country, but some areas of the northeast were still under a heat alert.
Health Minister Stephanie Rist told the newspaper La Tribune that the impact of the heat wave could last up to 10 days after temperatures had subsided. “The episode is not over yet,” he told broadcaster BFM.
Storms that hit parts of France late Saturday brought cooler air but also caused power outages in thousands of homes.
On Sunday afternoon, 36,000 homes in northern and central France were without electricity, the electricity company Enedis said in a statement.
