On Sunday, most of France was no longer under red alert after more than a week of intense heat, including several record-breaking days and nights. High temperatures are now moving eastward. The heat wave, considered the worst to hit Western Europe, would not have been possible without human-induced climate change, scientists stated.
Spanish researchers are attributing over 210 deaths to the heat, with that number expected to rise.
In France, several events were canceled or postponed over the weekend, such as the Pride festival and the Solidays music festival, to prevent overloading hospitals, which are already close to their breaking point, particularly in the Paris region.
“The increases [in deaths] are seen across all age groups, underscoring the fact that the effects of heat waves can affect the entire population. Nevertheless, 85 percent of the deaths recorded involve people aged 65 and older,” the French health agency reported, adding that these are “preliminary data that underestimate the total number of deaths.”
The heat wave has become a significant topic for politicians less than a year before a critical presidential election. Some schools have closed, and public transportation was disrupted, raising concerns about the French state’s inadequate preparation for extreme heat waves, which are projected by climate scientists to become more intense, more frequent, and longer.
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