France Experiences Power Outage Amid Record Heatwave Across Europe

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Heatwave Alert Issued Across Western Europe

A red heatwave alert has been declared by Italy’s Ministry of Health in 16 cities, including Milan and Rome, as schools close in the UK due to extreme weather conditions. The heatwave, which has smashed temperature records in many countries, is being driven by atmospheric and circulation patterns that keep hot air trapped in place for days.

France’s national temperature indicator reached 29.8 degrees Celsius (85.64 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, the highest since measurements began in 1947. A heat-related incident with a transformer left about 68,000 households without electricity in the northwestern department of Finistere, and power is not expected to be restored until the end of Wednesday at the earliest.

The French power network reported that up to 106,000 clients were left without power by late Tuesday as temperatures strained infrastructure. Sales of fans and air conditioners have skyrocketed in France, where most buildings are not designed to deal with extreme heat.

In the UK, hundreds of British schools planned to close or close early due to the heat, while many train services were reduced to avoid heat-related problems on the rail lines. The Met Office issued a heat warning for Wednesday and Thursday, predicting that June’s all-time daily temperature record could be broken.

Italy’s Ministry of Health declared a red heatwave alert in 16 cities, including Milan and Rome. Poland’s weather service issued high-level heat warnings for the western part of the country from Thursday to Saturday, predicting temperatures could break the record of 40.2C (104.4F) set in 1921.

The heatwave is expected to extend into Eastern Europe, with Croatia’s popular Adriatic coast put under red alert for Friday and Saturday. Hungary raised its heat alert level to the maximum from Saturday to Tuesday as temperatures continued to rise. Some relief could start to come in Spain on Wednesday when temperatures are expected to drop in most of the country.

The central and southern Netherlands will be under a code orange for extreme heat until at least Friday, while Belgium has placed the entire country under an orange heat alert starting on Thursday.

Source: Al Jazeera