Heatwave hits Europe: 40 drown in France trying to cool down in ‘climate chaos’
Europe swelters through record-high temperatures with governments having to take measures to try to reduce the impact
Forty people have drowned in France over the past few days as they sought to cool down to escape record heat, the government said on Tuesday, as a heatwave swept across much of Europe.
Britain, Italy and Spain were also sweltering in extreme heat, with record temperatures in some regions disrupting schools and transport networks.
Europe is warming at more than twice the global average, according to the World Meteorological Organization, making such prolonged heat episodes increasingly likely.
“Climate chaos is accelerating before our eyes,” said UN chief Antonio Guterres, while the energy crisis, fuelled by war in the Middle East, is “exposing the folly of a world hooked on hydrocarbons”.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world’s largest humanitarian network, said that besides sweltering outdoor temperatures, indoor heat was a serious health risk.
Mary Friel, the IFRC’s senior climate policy officer, told journalists in Geneva that for many people “extreme temperatures without action can quickly become a matter of life and death”.