scorching temperatures
\n Paris
\nWildfires have killed two people in Spain and two others have died in France because of a heatwave that has gripped Europe and forced the closure of a nuclear reactor at a Swiss power plant.
\nWith scorching temperatures again on Wednesday, Spanish officials said a wildfire in Catalonia had killed two people a day earlier and France\u2019s energy minister reported two deaths with a direct link to the heatwave, with 300 others taken to hospital.
\nItaly issued red alerts for 18 cities because of the extreme heat and Turkey has been tackling wildfires in what meteorologists say is an \u201cexceptional\u201d heatwave because it has come so early in Europe\u2019s summer.
\nThe blaze in Torrefeta in the Catalonia region of Spain destroyed several farms and affected an area stretching for about 40 km (25 miles), official said. It was largely contained though more wind and thunder storms were expected on Wednesday.
\n\u201cThe fire was extremely violent and erratic due to storms and strong winds, generating a convection cloud that complicated extinguishing efforts,\u201d the fire service said.
\nAuthorities in the Spanish city of Barcelona said on Tuesday they were also looking into whether the death of a street sweeper at the weekend was heat-related.
\nSpain experienced its hottest June on record this year, and France had its hottest June since 2003, Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said. Weather forecaster Meteo France said red alerts remained for several areas of central France, but that heat was easing in the west, though intense thunderstorms with possible heavy bursts of rainfall were expected in many parts of the east.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
scorching temperatures Paris Wildfires have killed two people in Spain and two others have died in France because of a heatwave that has gripped Europe and forced the closure of a nuclear reactor at a Swiss power plant. With scorching temperatures again on Wednesday, Spanish officials said a wildfire in Catalonia had killed two people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-488093","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n