Europe continued to be gripped by a severe heatwave on Tuesday, leading to widespread health alerts.
In France, over a thousand schools were closed, and the top floor of the Eiffel Tower was inaccessible to tourists, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
A heat dome caused the Mediterranean Sea to be up to 6 degrees Celsius warmer than usual, with temperatures reaching a record 30°C (86°F) in Spain’s Balearic Sea.
This information was reported by Spain’s Aemet weather forecaster.
Warming at an alarming rate
According to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, Europe is warming at twice the global average, making it the fastest-warming continent.
This leads to extreme heatwaves occurring earlier and persisting longer into the year.
Temperatures in France are expected to reach their peak on Tuesday, with some regions experiencing highs of 40-41°C and most others between 36-39°C, according to Meteo France.
Sixteen departments will be under the highest alert level from noon, while 68 others will be on the second-highest alert.
Due to the heat, around 1,350 schools will experience full or partial closures, a significant increase from approximately 200 on Monday, according to the Education Ministry.
Additionally, the top floor of the Eiffel Tower will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, and visitors are advised to hydrate adequately.
As farmers in France, the EU’s largest grain producer, begin harvesting this year’s crop, the extreme heat has also increased the risk of field fires.
To avoid harvesting during peak afternoon temperatures, some farmers worked through the night.
Authorities in the Indre region of central France, which has experienced numerous field fires since late June, prohibited field work between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Health alerts
Some experts warned that the intense heat could harm biodiversity.
“In the past we have seen impacts like mass mortalities of invertebrate species, die-offs of seagrass beds and disease outbreaks in mussel farms. It’s likely that we’ll see similar impacts from this event,” scientist Kathryn Smith of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, was quoted in a Reuters report.
Across Europe, health alerts have been issued, prompting residents and tourists to find ways to stay cool.
Globally, extreme heat claims as many as 480,000 lives each year, a figure that surpasses the combined fatalities from floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes, as reported by Swiss Re.
Germany’s DGG association for geriatric care has stated that most regions of the country are not sufficiently prepared for a heatwave.
Clemens Becker, author of a study conducted on behalf of the DGG said:
If they were (prepared), they could prevent tens of thousands of deaths in the future.
Deforestation and industrial practices are significant contributors to climate change, though the primary cause, according to scientists, is greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels.
Last year marked the hottest on record for our planet.
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