{"id":918456,"date":"2026-07-08T22:20:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T03:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/08\/40-drown-in-france-as-people-seek-relief-from-europes-heatwave\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T22:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T03:20:13","slug":"40-drown-in-france-as-people-seek-relief-from-europes-heatwave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/08\/40-drown-in-france-as-people-seek-relief-from-europes-heatwave\/","title":{"rendered":"40 drown in France as people seek relief from Europe’s heatwave"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Forty people have drowned in France over recent days as they sought to cool down to escape record heat, the prime minister said on Tuesday, \u200bas a heatwave <\/a>swept across much of Europe.<\/p>\n

Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Spain were also sweltering in extreme heat, with record temperatures in some regions disrupting schools and transport \u200cnetworks.<\/p>\n

Europe is warming at more than twice the global average, according to the World Meteorological Organisation, making such prolonged heat episodes increasingly likely.<\/p>\n

Children cool off in the Trocadero Fountain next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris as temperatures rise during a heatwave affecting a large part of France, June 22. \u2014 Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heat alert across France<\/h2>\n

Much of France is under severe heat alert and set to experience temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, Meteo France said, with temperatures of up to 43\u00b0C expected in some parts of western France.<\/p>\n

The country has just recorded its hottest afternoon and night since records began in 1947. Fifty-four departments are under red alert in \u200bwhat forecasters said was unprecedented.<\/p>\n

Across France, people have been jumping into canals and rivers to cool off. French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari said she understood the urge to escape the heat \u200bbut warned against swimming in unauthorised or dangerous areas.<\/p>\n

A person shelters from the sun under an umbrella along the banks of the River Seine in Paris as temperatures rise during a heatwave affecting a large part of France, June 22. \u2014 Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking ahead of an emergency meeting on the heatwave, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said: \u201cA sad scourge when \u2060it comes to drownings, as the latest figures just reported to us show 40 deaths since June 18, most of them young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, first responders were unable to resuscitate two children, aged 2 and \u200b4, who were found unconscious by their mother in the family car outside their home, said a prosecutor in Carpentras, southeast France.<\/p>\n

Business activity slows<\/h2>\n

In Paris, commuters struggled through sweltering conditions after sleepless nights in apartments ill-equipped \u200bfor heat. Some trains were cancelled, including those between Paris and Brussels.<\/p>\n

People cross the Place Royale in Nantes as a person uses a hand fan in the shade, to cool off during a heatwave affecting a large part of France, June 22. \u2014 Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Business leaders said the economy was also taking a hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrance is running at a slow pace. Businesses, as far as possible, are implementing recommendations to protect their employees,\u201d the head of France\u2019s MEDEF employers group, Patrick Martin, told BFM TV<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Head dome<\/h2>\n

Europe\u2019s heatwave is driven by a weather pattern known as an Omega block, because it takes the shape of the Greek letter, with a bulge of hot air in the middle \u200band cooler air on either side, allowing temperatures to build day after day.<\/p>\n

Heatwaves and storms are being intensified by climate change, pushing temperatures higher and causing more rainfall.<\/p>\n

Meteo France said current conditions were comparable to the \u200bAugust 2003 heatwave, which lasted 16 days and led to an estimated 80,000 excess deaths across Europe, according to the EU. It was uncertain how long the current episode would last.<\/p>\n

People cool off in the Trocadero Fountain next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris as temperatures rise during a heatwave affecting a large part of France, June 22. \u2014 Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Storms part of volatile weather pattern<\/h2>\n

In Italy, the health \u200cministry issued \u2060its highest level alert for 15 cities and authorities took measures to curtail work in some sectors. Storms are expected later on Tuesday over the Alps and Apennines, bringing heavy rain, gusty winds and hail.<\/p>\n

Britain is also in the grip of the heat, with the Met Office forecasting temperatures of up to 37\u00b0C in southern England on Tuesday \u2014 potentially a new June record \u2014 before rising further on Wednesday and Thursday.<\/p>\n

Dozens of schools plan early closures, citing buildings ill-suited to the heat.<\/p>\n

A woman uses a red umbrella to shade from the sun while walking on a street in Nantes as temperatures rise during a heatwave affecting a large part of France, June 22, 2026. \u2014 Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Transport networks across Europe came under strain. Britain\u2019s Network Rail warned passengers to travel only if necessary later this week as temperatures approach 39\u00b0C, with speed \u200brestrictions likely to disrupt services.<\/p>\n

In London, overnight thunderstorms \u2014 part \u200bof the same volatile weather pattern \u2014 caused further \u2060disruption, including at Heathrow Airport.<\/p>\n

Climate shelters<\/h2>\n

Spain\u2019s meteorological agency has issued red alerts across parts of the country, warning of dangerous heat with temperatures expected to reach 44\u00b0C. Nighttime has brought little relief, with around 30 monitoring stations still recording temperatures above 25\u00b0C early on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Madrid has opened climate shelters for vulnerable \u200bpeople, including the homeless. The shelters would \u201cprovide a climate-controlled environment, offer basic food, allow visitors to take a shower, and give them a chance to \u200brest for a while,\u201d said \u2060Juan Carlos Arellano of Madrid\u2019s Samur Social.<\/p>\n

Dozens of municipalities across northern Spain cancelled traditional bonfires due to wildfire risks, underlining how extreme temperatures are disrupting both cultural traditions and everyday activities.<\/p>\n

In Belgium, soaring temperatures forced a primary school in Tervuren, near Brussels, to relocate its final exams to a nearby church.<\/p>\n

In Switzerland, the northeastern canton of St. Gallen restricted water withdrawal from rivers and lakes, saying that surface and groundwater levels were low and \u2060temperatures were high.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s cooler up north<\/h2>\n

As southern Europe bakes, cooler northern destinations are drawing tourists seeking a \u201ccoolcation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were thinking about travelling to Croatia, but we \u200bcame to Sweden because it\u2019s cooler here,\u201d said German tourist Katharina Rexing in Stockholm\u2019s Old Town, on a day when it was 22 \u00b0C in the Swedish capital and 30\u00b0C in Croatia\u2019s Zagreb.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Joan Drews
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forty people have drowned in France over recent days as they sought to cool down to escape record heat, the prime minister said on Tuesday, \u200bas a heatwave swept across much of Europe. Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Spain were also sweltering in extreme heat, with record temperatures in some regions disrupting schools and transport \u200cnetworks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":918457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116495,1567],"tags":[122541,9420],"class_list":["post-918456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-drown","tag-drown","tag-france"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/918457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}