Europe remains on alert as record-breaking heat wave sweeps continent

ISTANBUL

European countries including France, Spain and Italy continued to suffer under a record-breaking heat wave Wednesday, facing extreme temperatures, storms, fires and even deaths.

Thirty-eight Spanish provinces are currently under storm and heat wave warnings, with seven autonomous communities expected to be on orange alert as temperatures exceed 40C (104F) in certain regions of the country, according to the Spanish daily El Mundo.

On Tuesday, two people died and 20,000 were forced into lockdown due to a fire that burned 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) in Catalonia, where an orange alert remains in effect.

The French storm observatory said on X that 95% of the country has exceeded the 35C (95F) threshold for extreme heat, while four departments are on red and 55 on orange alert, according to the weather service Meteo France.

Catherine Vautrin, France’s health minister, also pointed to a "serious increase" in emergency medical service activity, underlining that it is still too early to assess the impact of the heat wave, according to broadcaster BFM TV.

One elderly person and a homeless man in the French cities of Grenoble and Besancon were found dead amid high temperatures Tuesday.

Lyons State Forest in France’s Normandy region was partially closed after storms on June 25 damaged 3,500 hectares (8,648 acres) of woodland, according to the National Forests Office.

In Italy, where 18 cities have been on red alert since Tuesday, a 53-year-old woman died and a worker went into a coma due to high temperatures.

In Sardinia, a 75-year-old man collapsed and died in Budoni, while a 60-year-old man suffered a fatal illness at Lu Impostu beach near San Teodoro despite emergency response efforts, including the use of a rescue helicopter.

Emergency rooms across the country have seen a surge in admissions of up to 20%, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency.

Belgium also expects high temperatures of 33-38C (91.4-100.4F) in certain provinces, with four remaining on orange alert.

In the UK, the Met Office registered a temperature 33.6C (92.4F) in Frittenden, England on Tuesday as the country faces increasingly frequent temperature records.

The UK Health Security Agency extended its amber alert across much of England and warned of possible disruptions to public services.

According to the Met Office, this June was the second hottest on record in the UK, following June 2023.

In the state of Saxony in eastern Germany, a neighborhood has been evacuated due to a forest fire that broke out in the Gohrischheide nature reserve.

Speaking to the media, Raiko Riedel, deputy fire chief of the Zeithain Municipality, said the area affected by the fire has increased tenfold since noon, reaching 600 hectares (1,482 acres).

Riedel also noted that around 100 people were evacuated from the Heidehaeuser neighborhood due to the fire.

Meanwhile, a care home for disabled individuals had to be evacuated, and efforts to extinguish the fire in the area are ongoing with 180 firefighters.

Separately, a forest fire in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district in the state of Thuringia prompted an alert, with residents being urged to keep windows, doors and ventilation systems closed.