Seven dead in France associated with heat wave that brought record temperatures to Western Europe
Seven people have died in France due to the extreme heat wave installed unusually early at the beginning of the summer, a phenomenon that affects a large part of Western Europe, notes The Guardian.
“I can say today that there have been seven deaths directly or indirectly related to the heat,” French government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told TF1.
She stated that five of the victims lost their lives by drowning.
The French meteorological service, Météo-France, announced that Monday's maximum temperature of 37.1 degrees Celsius was recorded near Hossegor, in the Landes department, in the southwest of the country.
Meteorologists said Monday was “the hottest May day on record since records began,” with the national average temperature, calculated based on data collected from 30 weather stations, reaching 24.4 degrees Celsius. The previous record was 23.7 degrees Celsius and was set in 1944.
And the UK posted a record for May. Britain's weather service, the Met Office, announced that Monday was the hottest May day ever recorded in the country, after Kew Gardens, in south-west London, recorded 34.8 degrees Celsius. The institution described this value as “exceptional in the UK even in the middle of summer, even more so in May”.
In Spain, maximum temperatures of 36-38 degrees Celsius in the Guadiana, Guadalquivir and Ebro river valleys are expected to persist possibly until Friday, state weather agency Aemet said. According to her, “in some of these areas, temperatures could reach 40 degrees Celsius”.
In Italy's Lazio region, which includes Rome, authorities have imposed restrictions on activities with “prolonged exposure to the sun”, such as work in agriculture, construction sites or the delivery sector, between 12:30 and 16:00.
Two of the deaths recorded in France on Sunday were directly attributed to the extreme temperatures. A woman participating in a Hyrox fitness competition in Lyon died of hyperthermia, and a 53-year-old man suffered a heart attack during a 10km race in Paris.
Another 16 people were hospitalised, 10 of them in a serious condition, after another run in the Parisian suburb of Maisons-Alfort. Three teenagers are among the people who drowned
High temperatures have led many French people to take refuge on beaches and river banks to cool off in the water, although in most areas lifeguard surveillance does not start until July.
