Extreme heat, storms cause chaos in Europe

Two children aged two and four are among 18 people who have died so far in a heat wave across France, as large parts of Europe struggle to deal with record-breaking summer temperatures.

Helene Mourges, the prosecutor of the southeastern French town of Carpentras, where the children were reportedly found in a family car, told reporters, "the causes of death are yet to be determined, but the heat is the leading line of inquiry".

Three elderly people in the Bordeaux region died over the weekend from health issues related to the extreme heat. In addition, the BBC reported that 20 people had died by drowning from the start of the weekend to Tuesday morning, as they became increasingly desperate for ways to escape the extreme conditions, as the heat wave known as an Omega block, because of its similarity in shape to the Greek letter, continues to draw up warm air from the Sahara desert with no wind to provide any respite.

The World Meteorological Organization's European State of the Climate 2025 report, published in April this year, showed that at least 95 percent of Europe experienced above-average annual temperatures in 2025, with the annual sea surface temperature for Europe being the highest ever recorded, and that as a whole, Europe is warming at more than double the global rate, a stark message that is being reinforced by current weather conditions.

In the northern Spanish city of San Sebastian, traditionally one of the country's cooler regions, Reuters reported that on Tuesday the temperature was set to reach 40 degrees Celsius, more than twice the city's historical average for the date.

"We are seeing temperatures between five and 10 degrees above normal for this time of year, and in some northern areas even more than 10 degrees above average," said Ruben del Campo, spokesman for Spain's State Meteorological Agency.

Heat wave red alerts were issued in 12 cities across Italy, with reports of faltering power supplies in the northern city of Turin, because of strain on the grid, and similar warnings were issued in Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

In the United Kingdom, temperatures are on course to exceed those recorded in the summer of 1976, the benchmark against which all extreme temperatures are popularly measured. Tuesday was predicted to be the hottest day on record in London, and storms and torrential rain overnight saw firefighters in the capital take 400 calls after midnight.

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com