In France, the heat was set to peak on Tuesday, reaching 40 to 41 degrees Celsius in some areas and 36 to 39 degrees Celsius in most others, weather forecaster Meteo France said. Sixteen departments will be on the highest level of alert from noon, with 68 on the second highest.
Some 1,350 schools will be fully or partially closed due to the heat, up significantly from around 200 on Monday, the Education Ministry said. The top floor of the Eiffel Tower will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, with visitors advised to drink plenty of water.
The extreme heat also raised the risk of field fires as farmers in France, the EU’s biggest grain producer, start harvesting this year’s crop.
Some farmers were working through the night to avoid harvesting during peak temperatures in the afternoon. In the Indre region of central France, which has seen a spate of field fires since late June, authorities banned field work between 2pm and 6pm.
HEALTH ALERTS
The intense heat could harm biodiversity, some experts said.
“In the past, we have seen impacts like mass mortalities of invertebrate species, die-offs of seagrass beds and disease outbreaks in mussel farms. It’s likely that we’ll see similar impacts from this event,” said scientist Kathryn Smith of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
Health alerts have been issued across Europe, with residents and tourists alike seeking ways to keep cool.
