France hits all-time record temperature of 45.9C

[ahlam1399]

PARIS: Schools were dousing pupils with water and nursing homes were equipping the elderly with hydration sensors as Europe battled a record-setting heatwave — as France hit its all-time heat record of 45.1C on Friday.Several people have died around the continent in incidents authorities are linking to the exceptional weather. A major wildfire is raging in north-eastern Spain, sparked after a pile of chicken dung spontaneously combusted in the heat.Several countries have reported record temperatures this week, as France’s all-time heat record of 45.1C was recorded in the small southern town of Villevieille, according to French media. The French national weather service activated its highest level heat danger alert for the first time, putting four regions around Marseille and Montpellier in the south of the country under special watch. About 4,000 schools closed because they could not ensure safe conditions, and local authorities cancelled many end-of-school-year carnivals. Some criticised the government for going overboard, but prime minister Edouard Philippe defended the efforts after 15,000 people died in a heatwave in 2003 that woke France up to the risks. Italy put 16 cities under alerts for high temperatures, and civil security services distributed water to tourists visiting famed sites around Rome under a scorching sun. Heat was blamed for the deaths of two people in Spain, private news agency Europa Press reported.An 80-year-old man collapsed and died in the street in Valladolid, in north-west Spain, the agency said, and a 17-year-old boy died in the southern city of Cordoba after diving into a swimming pool and losing consciousness.Four people have drowned so far in France this week. The health minister warned people to swim only in authorised areas. France has also seen a rise in so-called street-pooling, or illegally opening fire hydrants. A six-year-old child is in life-threatening condition after being hit by water shooting from a hydrant in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, broadcaster France-Info reported.Authorities said the fire is the Catalonia region’s worst fire in two decades and 20,000 hectares of hilly terrain are at risk. Authorities are caring for more than 50 people evacuated the previous day. They included locals as well as people from Britain, Belgium, Germany, Brazil and the US, according to Europa Press. In Berlin, a police unit turned water cannons — usually used against rioters — on city trees to cool them down.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/com/cwEr/~4/asU2LTNtzmc

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