Deadly Omega heat wave cooking Europe expected to shatter more records
PARIS/LONDON/ROME — Western Europe was in the grip of a heat wave on Wednesday that shattered records, caused the deaths of dozens of people, closed schools, knocked out electricity and wiped out poultry farms.In France, which on Tuesday recorded its hottest day since records began nearly 80 years ago, authorities sought to restore electricity to thousands of homes hit by power cuts in the northwestern region of Brittany.The recorded temperature peaked at 111.7 degrees Fahrenheit (44.3 degrees Celsius) in the southwestern town of Pissos.Italy’s health ministry issued its highest heat alert for 16 cities, from Florence and Milan to Rome, Turin and Verona.In Britain, on course for its hottest June day ever, the Met Office weather service issued only the second extreme-heat weather warning in history.
Hundreds of schools stayed shut or closed early, as high temperatures could place even healthy people at risk.At least 48 people died in France from drowning as they attempted to seek respite from the crippling heat, while two young children were killed by heat in a car, authorities said.Two elderly people died of heatstroke in Spain, which has experienced extreme temperatures since the weekend, exceeding 104 F (40 C).Temperatures there were starting to ease on Wednesday, after Monday and Tuesday were the hottest days on record for late June, the national weather agency AEMET said.The scorching temperatures killed hundreds of thousands of birds at poultry farms in Brittany and the Pays de la Loire, French agricultural bodies said.
Farmers awaiting collection or burial were advised to pour sawdust or wood shavings on the carcasses to absorb liquid.The dead birds could be buried at the farms only after technical and environmental checks.Nuclear power plants that provide most of the electricity in France reduced their output by about 7% of electricity demand on Wednesday, as high temperatures reduced access to cooling water.A rare weather patte...