Europe heatwave: Drowning deaths soar in France as Europe buckles in record June heat

Météo France said the red alert in much of France would be extended on Wednesday afternoon from 54 to 58 of the country’s 96 metropolitan departments, to include several areas in the north west.

The president of the Île-de-France region which covers the entire Paris area, Valérie Pécresse, urged people not to travel and to work from home instead: “The rail tracks cannot withstand temperatures above 50C. So we’ll have a lot of disruption to public transport.”

The Eiffel Tower said it was closing early on Tuesday because of the high temperatures forecast in the capital. Instead of staying open until 00:45 at night, it said it was closing at 16:00 (14:00 GMT) and the last entry to the tower was at 12:15. Some 6.75 million people entered the monument last year.

The world’s most visited museum, the Louvre, said it was bringing forward its closing time from Wednesday to Saturday from 18:00 to 16:00 local time. The Louvre said its historic building “remains fragile, external and is not sufficiently adapted to climate change”, adding that the “build-up of heat is at its highest at the end of the day, and intensified by the volume of visitors”.

The heatwave also meant a nuclear power plant in southwest France had to be shut down on Monday night because water temperatures in the River Garonne were set to reach 28C on Tuesday. Under French laws, water used to cool the reactors at the Golfech plant must not exceed that temperature.

Spanish forecasters say temperatures on the Iberian peninsula will start to fall from Wednesday onwards, however they are set to peak in the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as Germany on Friday.

The Dutch weather service, the KNMI, has issued a Code Orange weather alert which refers to a “high chance of dangerous weather” in southern and central areas from Wednesday to Friday.

After meeting on Tuesday, Belgium’s Risk Management Group said it was activating the “alert phase of the national ozone and heat plan” for only the second time. The first occasion was in August 2020, although no specific national measures have been announced, other than to raise awareness and call for extra care for the elderly and children.

Climate change is driving up temperatures around the world – but particularly in Europe. It is the fastest warming content, heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service, external.

This is causing increased summer heatwaves, greater pressure on Europe’s water supply, and more intense wildfires. Last year, more than 1 million hectares burnt across Europe – a record level – with Spain particularly affected.

With additional reporting by Esme Stallard