Europe battles severe heatwave as death toll rises to 327 in Spain

Europe is continuing to endure a severe heatwave, with extreme temperatures driving up deaths, disrupting travel and putting pressure on power systems across several countries.

According to the report, Spain has been among the worst affected, where the death toll linked to record-breaking heat has risen to 327 over the past five days. Authorities say the persistent high temperatures have created dangerous conditions for vulnerable people across the country.

Germany has also recorded its highest temperatures in six years, with the mercury climbing beyond 41 degrees Celsius. In the United Kingdom, temperatures reached 37.3 degrees Celsius, while Switzerland reported a high of 38.8 degrees Celsius.

The heatwave has forced the closure of tourist sites in France, Italy and Germany as officials move to protect visitors and staff from the intense weather. The closures have also affected local economies that depend heavily on summer tourism.

In some areas, rising electricity demand has led to power breakdowns as people turned to cooling systems to cope with the heat. Italy’s longest river is also beginning to dry up, underscoring the wider environmental impact of the prolonged hot spell.

Meteorologists say the heatwave remains firmly in place across much of Europe, raising fresh concerns over public health, energy supplies and water shortages if the extreme conditions continue.

According to AFP, Tens of millions are braving a weekend of extreme temperatures in Europe as a deadly heatwave moves eastwards, with some countries announcing rising death tolls and health services warning of saturation.

While some mild relief is expected Sunday in western Europe, German forecasters are warning that more temperature records could still be broken over the weekend as eastern countries issue a slew of red alerts for the coming days.

AFP analysis suggested almost 200 million people faced temperatures of more than 35C on Saturday as an unprecedented hot spell that has already seen records tumble in Britain, France, Switzerland drags on.

France is seeing “a higher than normal number of deaths” due to the heatwave baking the country, Health Minister Stephanie Rist said Saturday.

“We’re seeing indicators that mortality will very likely be higher than at the same time last year,” Rist told La Tribune newspaper.

Spain had already said Thursday that the heatwave could be linked to 212 deaths over a four-day period.

Paris’ hospitals said that visits to emergency rooms were 36 percent higher than normal on both Friday and Saturday, while Vienna said its emergency services were 15 percent busier and that they had put on extra staff.

Street parties and music festivals were cancelled in France, Germany and the Netherlands — though a Pride March went ahead in Budapest despite the extreme heat warnings.

The German Weather Service (DWD) issued a red alert for most of the country on Saturday, and said late afternoon that it had recorded its highest ever temperature with 41.5C recorded in eastern Germany.

“It can’t be ruled out that temperatures could approach 42C,” the service said, which would mean another all-time heat record just a day after the previous one.

Denmark’s weather service said early afternoon Saturday that the country had recorded its highest temperature ever, and then an hour later said the record had lasted just an hour, with the mercury hitting 37C in two places near Aarhus.

The Czech Republic also recorded its highest-ever temperature, with a reading of 40.8C just north of Prague, but the country’s weather service said the heat would peak on Sunday with temperatures expected to get close or even exceed 41C.

Switzerland broke the record for its hottest-ever June day for the third day in a row on Saturday, with the mercury rising to 39C in the northern city of Basel.

But in France, the number of departments under the highest red alert will fall to 24 Sunday morning from 37 on Sunday. The Paris region, for instance, will be downgraded from red to orange alert for Sunday.

On Wednesday, a record 72 of France’s 96 mainland departments were under a red alert.

But the cooler weather was accompanied by thunderstorms, and over 800 flights out of London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports were delayed and scores more cancelled on Saturday, according to tracker FlightAware.

Parks in Paris were closed late Saturday and a rock festival was canceled in Bordeaux Saturday night. Paris police also banned a street protest and a festival planned for Sunday.

Police in Brussels also evacuated a music festival.

Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming driven by humans burning fossil fuels — and are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.

Experts said a “heat dome” of trapped air from north Africa was causing the intense weather, and although the phenomenon was not unprecedented, the temperatures were.

Romania was the latest country to issue a red alert, putting out a warning that almost the entire country would face extreme heat from Monday to Wednesday.

Denis Ovdyienko, a courier, told AFP in Bratislava on Friday he was struggling to keep cool and had to rely on public fountains.

“I feel like everything is warm. The road is warm, my phone is warm, my head is warm, everything is hot,” said the 26-year-old.

“After four o’clock, the fatigue starts to kick in.”