At least 18 dead in France as much of Europe grapples with extreme heat

At least 18 dead in France as much of Europe grapples with extreme heat

Deaths include two children left in a hot car in southeast France

53 million in France under extreme heat alert as western Europe faces heat wave

At least 18 people died in France, including two children left in a hot car, as a heat wave gripped Europe and smashed temperature records in several cities Monday.

As schools in France closed ‌or modified their schedules, forecasters in Britain predicted temperatures could break June records this week.

The temperature in Bordeaux in France's western wine country rose to 41.9 C, breaking a record set last August. In Poitiers, in central France, it reached 41.2 C, surpassing a previous high set in 1947.

In San Sebastián, in Spain's traditionally cooler north, the temperature was expected to reach 40 C, more than double the city's historic ​average for June 22, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor. The monitor showed Europe as the ​continent furthest from its historic norm on Monday.

An April report by the World Meteorological Organization found Europe is warming at more than double the global rate.

First responders were unable to resuscitate two children, aged 2 and 4, who were ​found unconscious by their mother in the family car outside their home, said a prosecutor in Carpentras, in southeastern France.

Three elderly people, aged between 80 and 95, died over the weekend in the Bordeaux region from health problems caused by the heat wave, local government official Sophie Brocas told France TV late Sunday.

"Swim only in places that are supervised," French Civil Safety service spokesperson Jérôme Boulanger said after 13 people were reported drowned from Sunday into Monday. Drowning deaths spiked by 172 per cent in France last year during heat waves as swimmers tried to cool off.

The weather pattern affecting large parts of Europe is known as an Omega block because it takes the shape of the Greek letter, with a ⁠bulge of hot air in the middle and cooler air either side, said Clair Barnes, a research associate in extreme weather and climate at Imperial College in London.

"It's drawing warm air up from North Africa, from the Sahara, and that's why we have this really intense heat. It's very slow moving and it means there's kind of no ‌wind, no breeze for respite," she said.

Heatwaves and storms are being intensified by climate change, pushing temperatures higher and causing more rainfall, she said.

The Met Office, Britain's national weather forecaster, said on Monday that a four-day heat wave across southern and central England ⁠and parts of Wales could push ⁠temperatures above 39 C in some places. That would easily shatter the previous June record of 35.6 C set in 1957 and matched in 1976. Just a few weeks ago, Britain ​had shattered its record high temperature for May.

"Thirty-six degrees is going to be disgusting," said data scientist Lewis Jennings, out walking in central London.

Paris was expected to record its highest June temperature, with the mercury reaching 38.4 ⁠C, according to preliminary numbers from Météo-France.

"We are seeing temperatures between five and 10 degrees above normal for this time of year, and in some northern areas even more than 10 degrees above average," said ‌Rubén del Campo, spokesperson for AEMET, Spain's meteorological agency.

Italy issued red ⁠heat alerts for ⁠12 cities Monday.

Utility Iren was doubling workers' shifts and added generators ​to address sporadic power cuts in Turin as the electricity grid came under strain, a spokesperson said.

Birds such as swifts, swallows, sparrows and starlings, which make their nests ​in the eaves of roofs, have been particularly affected ⁠by abnormally high temperatures, said Romaine de Jaegere, founder of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of Animals Living in the Wild refuge in Temploux, Belgium.

"Temperatures on the roofs can sometimes reach 50, even 60 degrees Celsius. So they prefer to jump rather than let themselves die and literally cook in their nests," De Jaegere said, adding that the shelter had received 150 animals in the last three days.