BERLIN, June 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Europe’s record-breaking heatwave was forecast to intensify, with authorities on alert as temperatures threaten to surpass 40 degrees Celsius in some regions.
The stifling heat has prompted traffic restrictions in France, sparked forest fires in Spain and fanned debate in Germany over public nudity as sweltering residents stripped off.
Meteorologists blame a blast of hot air from northern Africa for the heat this week, which has already set new records in Europe for June.
Exceptional for arriving so early in summer, the heatwave will likely send thermometers above 40 degrees Celsius in France, Spain and Greece.
In Spain, hundreds of firefighters and soldiers, backed by water-dropping aircraft, battled to put out a wind-fuelled forest fire that erupted in Torre del Espanol in the northeastern region of Catalonia.
The worst is expected Friday when 33 of the 50 Spanish provinces face extreme temperatures, which could reach 44 degrees in Girona.
In France, temperatures “unprecedented” for their timing and intensity — since 1947 when detailed surveys started — were expected to reach at least 39 degrees over two-thirds of the country, said weather service Meteo-France.
Health official Jerome Saloman said the impact of the extreme heat was starting to be felt in France, with an increase in weather-related calls to emergency medical services.
Some schools were closed Thursday and Friday, while several cities — including Paris and Lyon — restricted traffic to limit a build-up of air pollution.
French authorities were taking no chances after the August 2003 heatwave was blamed for 15,000 deaths in the country, with television and radio broadcasts issuing warnings.
In Greece, where around 100 people died in last year’s deadly fires at the Mati coastal resort, hospitals and officials were on red alert with temperatures of around 45 degrees nationwide.
The 70-year-old record for the highest temperature recorded for June was beaten in Germany as 38.6 degrees Celsius was recorded in Brandenburg, the German Weather Service (DWD) said.
Meanwhile, police in Brandenburg cautioned a naked man for driving his moped wearing only his helmet and sandals.
And in Munich, security guards ordered a group of women sunbathing topless on the banks of the river Isar to cover up.
Scores of people have drowned in Poland and Lithuania as they tried to cool off in lakes and rivers, authorities said.
The Polish weather institute IMGW said the country’s highest ever June temperature was recorded on Wednesday in the southwest: 38.2 degrees Celsius.
The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute also recorded the country’s highest June temperature: 38.9 degrees Celsius in the northern town of Doksany.
In Belgium, vastly different temperatures were expected with 19 degrees Celsius on the north coast and 33 degrees in the south, according to broadcaster RTBF. — NNN-AGENCIES
