Seven people have died in France as a major heatwave brings record temperatures to Europe.
Five people drowned in lakes, rivers or near beaches as France battled scorching heat over the weekend, junior energy minister Maud Bregeon said on Tuesday, with the heatwave expected to continue through the week.
Weather alerts were issued as a 53-year-old runner suffered a heart attack and died during a race in Paris on Sunday, and a woman died from heatstroke during another sporting event in Lyon, according to local media.
Sports minister Marina Ferrari said on Tuesday that some sports competitions may have to be cancelled in the coming days as a result of the weather, while organisers will be expected to bolster medical facilities and provide water to help mitigate the heat.
“Faced with this unprecedented episode of extreme heat for the month of May, I call on everyone’s vigilance. Avoid any activity during the hottest hours, hydrate regularly, adjust the intensity of your effort, and prioritise activities early in the morning or in the evening,” she urged on social media.
France and the UK saw record high temperatures for May over the weekend, with Paris recording this year’s first temperature over 30C on Saturday. Temperatures are expected to peak at 40C in the southwest of France on Friday, with Brittany in the northwest bracing for 36C this afternoon.
Weather agency Meteo France issued an orange weather alert across the northwest of the country on Tuesday, urging vigilance as the heat wave sweeps through. The west through to the centre of the country were given yellow weather warnings for potential thunderstorms.
The agency said that Tuesday was expected to be even hotter than Monday, which was the hottest May day on record since records began.
Wednesday was expected to see a “very slight” decrease in maximum temperatures in Brittany as the heatwave moves southeast, lasting until “at least” the end of the week.
French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu is expected to hold a meeting with key ministers on Thursday to review government preparations for the heatwave.
Spain’s Costa de Cantabria, in the north of the country, was also anticipating maximum temperatures of 34C on Tuesday, with weather agency AEMET issuing yellow weather warnings for the lush coastal region and swathes of Extremadura further south.
Parts of Badajoz, Extremadura, were expected to see highs of 38C on Tuesday, lasting from around 2pm until 8pm. Some regions could hit 40C this week, AEMET warned.
The agency said the “extraordinarily high temperatures for this time out year” would continue across the country all week, except in the Canary Islands.
“Widespread tropical nights” are also expected in the south-west of the country from tomorrow, it said on social media.
Parts of Italy have meanwhile imposed restrictions on working outdoors, with orange heat alerts, warning of risk to life for the most vulnerable groups, issued for a dozen cities across the country on Tuesday.
Germany, meanwhile, saw temperatures climb past 30C for the first time this year on Saturday, with temperatures on course to rise throughout the week.
Meteo-France said the soaring temperatures were due to a “heat dome”, which forms when a high-pressure system develops in the upper atmosphere, forcing the air below it to sink and compress and raising temperatures in the lower atmosphere.
The hot air expands and thus creates a bubble, trapping heat within it. Heat domes make it harder for winds to move high pressure on, leading to fairly stagnant pockets of heat, which increase risk of death and wildfires.
Britain on Monday recorded its hottest day on record for May as temperatures reached 34.8C in south-west London, surpassing the previous 32.8C record seen in 1922 and 1944.
A study last year found that the chances of surpassing the previous 32.8 C May record were three times more likely as a result of changes in climate as a result of human greenhouse gas emissions, the Met Office said.
“This heat would be exceptional in the UK even in mid summer, let alone in May,” it said.
