Tens of millions of people face a weekend of extreme temperatures across Europe as a deadly heatwave moves east, with German forecasters warning new records could be broken and eastern countries issuing a series of red alerts for the coming days.
AFP Analysis suggests almost 200 million people would face temperatures above 35℃ on Saturday as an unprecedented heatwave that has already smashed records in Britain, France and Switzerland, drags on.
Dozens of people died either from heat-related illnesses or drowning, and emergency services in several countries said their facilities were at capacity.
Street parties and music festivals were canceled in France, Germany and the Netherlands, although pride marches were expected to continue in Budapest and Munich despite extreme heat warnings.
And Switzerland and France shut down their nuclear reactors because the water used for cooling risked overheating nearby rivers.
The German Weather Service (DWD) issued a red alert for most of the country on Saturday.
“We cannot exclude that temperatures will approach 42°C,” the service said, which would mean a new historic heat record just one day after the previous one.
Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear indicator of global warming caused by human consumption of fossil fuels – and are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.
Experts said a “thermal dome” of trapped air from North Africa was causing the intense weather, and while the phenomenon was not unprecedented, the temperatures were.
“Everything is hot”
Romania was the latest country to issue a red alert, warning that almost the entire country would face extreme heat from Monday to Wednesday.
Slovakia had issued a similar warning and confirmed that Friday night was the hottest on record, with temperatures not falling below 26.3℃.
Denis Ovdyienko, a courier, said AFP Friday in Bratislava, he struggled to stay cool and had to rely on public fountains.
“I feel like everything is hot. The road is hot, my phone is hot, my head is hot, everything is hot,” the 26-year-old said.
“From 4 p.m. onwards, fatigue begins to make itself felt.”
The Czech Republic, Hungary and Moldova were also on high alert over the weekend, while Balkan countries were also bracing for tough days ahead.
“Exceptional, extreme”
At least 193 million people in Europe are expected to experience temperatures above 35℃ on Saturday, according to AFP calculations based on forecasts, with Germany hardest hit.
Even though many events were canceled, many in Germany continued.
The Berlin Philharmonic said it would continue its traditional open-air end-of-season concert in Berlin despite temperatures of up to 41℃, but the dress code would be relaxed.
“These gentlemen will perform without a jacket, but with a black shirt on top,” said an orchestra spokeswoman.
They would be allowed to roll up their sleeves, and women’s tops must only cover the elbow and do not have to be long-sleeved.
Parisian authorities, however, forced the abandonment of several events, including the city’s annual pride march.
Deputy mayor for health Antoine Alibert said hospitals in the French capital were saturated, echoing comments from several other city leaders.
He told local media that stretchers were “piling up in the corridors”, emergency calls had skyrocketed and hospital visits were on the rise.
“We are in the middle of a health crisis. This is an exceptional and extreme heatwave event,” he declared.
