EUROPE REELING UNDER INTENSE HEAT WAVE

                                         

 (Covering head with umbrella or cloth in Paris )

( People cooling themselves under public water sprinklers in Paris )

    

EUROPE REELING UNDER INTENSE HEAT WAVE 

Heat wave is sweeping across   Europe. Here in  Paris , the temperature touched  38 degrees  Celsius. Schools have been closed for 3 days. Tourists cool themselves under public taps. Advisory from administration for seniors to stay indoors.Paris and 15 other departments have been  moved up to the red alert level. The peak temperature is expected to reach 41°C.

Meteo France said temperature highs of up to 41°C were to be expected on Tuesday in some of the areas designated with a red alert. Temperatures would freshen up Wednesday evening around Paris, with hot weather persisting around the Mediterranean.People walk with umbrellas . On Monday, 84 of 96 mainland regions of France  were under an orange alert, which the Climate Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher called an "unprecedented" situation. Heat warnings are also in place for parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany,  and Balkan countries including Croatia. According to Meteo -France, heat wave can also lead to significant social impacts, such as drought or problems with drinking water supplies.

                                         

((Temperature at 8.45 pm today (1st  July, 2025)  in Paris ))

To cope with the heat, several schools will be closed from Monday afternoon. In France, some 200 establishments will be partially or totally closed. The government is advising companies to protect employees and adapt working hours.

                                         

                                                     

The authorities recommend drinking regularly, cooling off several times a day, and limiting exposure to the heat.In response to the heatwave and pollution peak in the Île-de-France region, the Paris Prefecture de Police is extending its traffic restrictions. The speed limit has been lowered by 20 km/h on many roads, and telecommuting is strongly recommended to limit travel.Across the Île-de-France region which includes Paris, police said all but the least polluting vehicles would be banned from the roads from 0330 GMT to 2200 GMT because of high ozone pollution levels.The newspapers report that the heatwave is expected to peak on Wednesday July 2. On wednesday, the temperature is expected to reach 40°C . Overnight temperatures are unlikely to cool significantly, with lows between 26 and 28°C in Paris that too after midnight .

Faced with scorching weather and already sweltering temperatures on the ground, as a precautionary measure, the top of the Tower has been closed to the public until Wednesday July 2 inclusive. This has  disappointed scores of visitors.vl Eiffel Tower staff wrote this on the landmark’s website :-

“We apologize for the inconvenience caused.During this period of high temperatures, please remember to protect yourselves from the sun and stay hydrated regularly.”

                                             

                                          

The Algerian fruit seller near our apartment  advises me to keep stock of lemons, soda, pears ,grapes and a few watermelons in the house to beat the heat . The cashier at  the Franprix store  near our apartment  keeps  saying ," C'en est trop !" Or "This is too much " while attending to customers . The boulanger ( baker ) near  our apartment said ,"nous sommes dans deux fours " meaning ," we are in two ovens ". And the friendly Armenian shop owner from who I buy sweets variety of fresh  apricots ( like we get in Leh, Ladakh ) tell me ,"  Les abricots ne sont pas bons en chaleur " or " apricots are not good  take in this heat " . 

Europe has been a cold continent  comparatively and people are not used  to extreme  heat during summers. People are not prepared to face it . The building construction too doesn't help to fight  heat . I didn't find  air conditioners in most of the apartments in Paris  . Laura Paddison and Mitchell McCluskey write this for CNN:-

"As climate change drives more severe and prolonged heat waves, which arrive earlier and earlier, some are questioning why wealthy European countries have been seemingly reluctant to adopt air conditioning — especially as the heat takes an increasingly deadly toll.A big part of the reason is many European countries historically had little need for cooling, especially in the north. Heat waves have always happened but rarely reached the prolonged high temperatures. 

Europe hasn’t approached heat in the same way as the historically hotter United States. While nearly 90% of US homes have air conditioning, in Europe it’s around 20%, and some countries have much lower rates. In the United Kingdom, only around 5% of homes have cooling systems — many of which are portable AC units. In Germany, the figure is 3%.

Europe now regularly endures.Some buildings in hotter, southern European countries were built for the heat. They have thick walls, small windows that keep the sun from beaming inside and are designed to maximize air flow. This has helped keep them cooler and lessened the perceived need for artificial cooling.In other parts of Europe, however, homes have not been designed with heat in mind.France’s far-right politician Marine Le Pen has vowed to implement a “major air conditioning infrastructure plan,” while criticizing the “so-called French elites” who encourage others to seek alternative cooling methods while they “obviously enjoy air-conditioned cars and offices.” But experts warn AC may be a quick reprieve from scorching temperatures but it gobbles up energy, most of which still comes from planet-heating fossil fuels."

Unfortunately, in August 2003, a major tragedy struck France when 14,802 people were killed by the hot, dry air  with temperature touching 37 degrees celcius that smothered the country for a fortnight, most of them elderly, many of them dying alone . It was unprecedented for people who are used to 27 degree Celcius during summers .At that time.  nobody believed that heat could kill also. The newspapers  called it ," fun in the sun" while the health minister gave a reassuring TV address from his holiday home on the Riviera.

Europe is heating up at twice the global average speed and is the world's fastest-warming continent, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service has said.

"ajeeb si bhayankar garmi hai ."

( Avtar Mota ...1/07/2025...Paris )

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