France expecting peak temperatures as heatwave hits Europe
PARIS - Paris extended a red alert for high temperatures on July 1 , with the top of the Eiffel Tower shut, polluting traffic banned and speed restrictions in place as a searing heatwave grips Europe.
Mediterranean countries from the Iberian peninsula through France and Italy to the Balkans and Greece have been sweltering for several days, prompting health warnings and wildfire alerts.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is making such heatwave events more intense, frequent and widespread.
Temperatures in France were expected to hit a peak on July 1 , according to the Meteo France weather agency, with some areas expected to soar beyond 40 deg Celsius.
'We have air-conditioning but it's not very powerful,' said Mr Raphael, 27, on the street in a Parisian suburb. 'Today is going to be a struggle.'
Paris was facing its first red alert in five years, with local officials empowered to limit or ban sporting events, festivals and school outings for children. Authorities said the alert would be extended into July 2 .
Operators of the Eiffel Tower shut the summit of the 330m high landmark at 11am GMT (7pm, Singapore time) on June 30 and said it would remain closed on July 1 and 2 because of the heatwave.
'Remember to protect yourself from the sun and stay hydrated. Water fountains are available in the walkways leading to the esplanade,' they said.
All but the least polluting vehicles were banned from the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, between 3.30am GMT to 10pm GMT because of high ozone pollution levels, police said.
Speed limits of 20kmh would also remain in some places.
Across France, the government said it expected nearly 1,350 schools to be partially or completely shut – nearly double the number on June 30 – with teachers complaining that overheated and unventilated classrooms were making students unwell.
Warnings were issued for young children, older people and those with chronic illnesses.
'Heatwaves are deadly,' said Mr Akshay Deoras, a research scientist at the University of Reading, west of London.
'We need to treat extreme heat with the same seriousness we give to dangerous storms.'
Roll cloud
Portugal is expecting some respite on July 1 after two days on red alert in several regions, including Lisbon, and warnings will be downgraded in all but eight areas inland.
But temperatures were still expected to reach 40 deg C in the central city of Castel Branco, Beja and Evora in the south, and 34 deg C in the capital.
The national meteorological agency IPMA said those on the beaches in northern and central Portugal would have seen a rare 'roll cloud' blown towards the coast on June 30 .
Images shared on social networks showed a huge horizontal cloud heading from the horizon towards the shore, accompanied by a violent gust of wind when it reached land.
'The most frightening thing was the wind and everything becoming dark,' one swimmer told online media outlet ZAP.
'It was very strange. We all started packing up our things and running. It looked like a tsunami.'
Similar temperatures in the high 30s to mid 40s were forecast in Spain after they soared to 46 deg C in the south – a new record for June, according to the national weather agency.
Red alerts have been issued for 18 Italian cities in the coming days, including Rome, Milan, Verona, Perugia and Palermo, as well as across the Adriatic on the Croatian coast and Montenegro.
Italy also experienced another type of extreme weather event on June 30 when a flash flood in the northern region of Piedmont caused by heavy rain killed a 70-year-old man.
'We are increasingly faced with emergency situations due to weather events that we used to call exceptional but are now more and more frequent,' said the president of the region, Mr Alberto Cirio, on social media.
The Mediterranean Sea itself recorded a new June high of 26 deg C on June 29 , according to French weather service scientist Thibault Guinaldo, citing data from EU monitor Copernicus.
The risk of forest fires remains high in a number of Portuguese regions. On the night of June 30 , some 250 firefighters were tackling a blaze in the southern Aljustrel area.
In Turkey, rescuers evacuated more than 50,000 people threatened by a string of wildfires, most from the western province of Izmir, where winds of 120km per hour fanned the blazes.
Greece has also been tackling wildfires. AFP
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