On Sunday, much of France was no longer awake, after more than a week of extreme heat, including several record-breaking days and nights. High temperatures are now moving east. The heat wave – the worst ever to hit Western Europe – could not have happened without humans warming the planet by burning fossil fuels, scientists said.
Spanish researchers are involve more than 210 deaths due to heat – the number is expected to increase.
In France, a number of events have been canceled or postponed over the weekend, such as the Pride festival and the Solidays music festival, to avoid overloading already overcrowded hospitals. near their breaking pointespecially in the Paris region.
“The increase (of deaths) is seen in all age groups, underscoring the fact that the effects of heat waves can affect the whole population. However, 85 percent of the recorded deaths involve people aged 65 and over,” the French health agency said, adding that these are “preliminary data that underestimate the number of deaths.”
The heat wave has been conversational point for politicians, less than a year before the general presidential election. Some schools have been forced to close and public transport affected, raising concerns about France’s ill-preparedness for heat waves that are likely to be more intense, more frequent and longer, according to climate scientists.
