France
\nFrance has said it recorded an increase of more than 2,000 deaths during the last week of a record-breaking European heatwave in June as forecasters warn of further extreme temperatures on the continent in the next few days.
\nDeaths rose 29% in the last week of June compared to the week before, with French health minister St\u00e9phanie Rist adding there had been a \u201cclear increase\u201d in deaths among those over 45.
\nFrance saw its hottest day ever on average country-wide on 24 June, with temperatures hitting almost 41C in Paris and half the nation placed under a red heat alert.
\nNews of the death toll comes with parts of Europe, including the UK, braced for more searing temperatures from this weekend.
\nBBC Weather says a large area of high pressure is currently building from the Azores towards Portugal and Spain and that by the weekend, heat is forecast to climb across France and southern Britain.
\nAnd as Europe braces for sweltering conditions, millions of Americans celebrating the July Fourth holiday weekend are already being affected by prolonged extreme heat and high humidity in parts of the central and eastern US.
\nClimate change is driving up temperatures around the world – but particularly in Europe. It is the fastest warming continent, heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service.
\nThis is causing increased summer heatwaves, greater pressure on Europe\u2019s water supply, and more intense wildfires.
\nThis summer\u2019s record-breaking temperatures have already proved particularly deadly.
\nBelgium recorded 1,222 excess deaths during the heatwave \u2013 39% more than usual \u2013 with almost half being people aged 85 and over.
\nThe country\u2019s health ministry said the number of deaths during a heatwave was \u201cunprecedented\u201d.
\nIn France, the number of deaths recorded between 22 and 28 June increased by 2,025 – nearly 30%, the Public Health France agency announced on Friday. Deaths rose by 62% in the Paris region alone.
\nThe French health ministry said the figure was likely an \u201cunderestimate\u201d and mortality would \u201ctherefore be higher than these initial figures\u201d.
\nDrowning deaths soared during the heatwave, with French Interior Minister Laurent Nu\u00f1ez saying on Saturday that 72 people had died by drowning since 18 June.
\nMeanwhile, unprecedented heat in the Netherlands last week led to about 480 excess deaths, Dutch authorities said on Thursday – most of whom were aged 80 and older.
\nTemperatures reached almost 40C in parts of the country, with most of the deaths reported in the south and east of the Netherlands where temperatures were highest.
\nWhile the Netherlands is expecting a cooler week ahead, hot weather is predicted again over the weekend elsewhere.
\nTemperatures are forecast to reach 40C in the south of France, with peaks of 36C to 37C expected around Bordeaux, Toulouse and Agen.
\nM\u00e9t\u00e9o-France has issued red alerts for Friday and Saturday for forest fires in the southern part of the country, warning that weather conditions meant the risk of an outbreak was \u201cvery high\u201d compared to summer norms.
\nOn Thursday, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said nearly 7,000 fires had broken out since the start of the summer season, with about 8,700 hectares burned so far.
\nNearly 3,000 people were evacuated after a wildfire ignited in the town of Sainte-Marie-la-Mer and spread to Canet-en-Roussillon on Thursday.
\nIn the Iberian Peninsula, Aemet weather service has warned of the possibility of another heatwave.
\nPortugal\u2019s government declared a state of alert which will remain in place until midnight on Tuesday. Temperatures are forecast to exceed 40C in some areas, with overnight temperatures above 25C.
\nIn Spain, areas of the southwest are on orange alert as 40C is expected in some parts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
France France has said it recorded an increase of more than 2,000 deaths during the last week of a record-breaking European heatwave in June as forecasters warn of further extreme temperatures on the continent in the next few days. Deaths rose 29% in the last week of June compared to the week before, with French […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554361,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-554350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n