PARIS — France braced Monday for a punishing week of potentially record-setting heat, as a searing heat wave brought daytime temperatures above 104 degrees Fahrenheit and muggy nights that offered little relief for sleep.
Meteo France, the country’s national weather agency, said much of France — the European Union’s largest nation by area — was moving into a prolonged stretch of extreme conditions not expected to ease before Friday.
The agency described the heat wave as exceptionally severe, “similar to the August 2003 heat wave, but with a still uncertain duration.” France created its heat alert system in the aftermath of that deadly episode, when the highest temperatures in more than 50 years were blamed for an estimated 15,000 deaths, many among elderly people living in apartments and retirement homes without air conditioning.
Europe is warming faster than any other continent, with temperatures rising at twice the global average rate since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Scientists have linked human-driven climate change to more frequent and intense weather extremes, while projections from the United Nations climate agency indicate that additional heat records are likely to fall over the next five years.
A country with little air-conditioning swelters
Several communities in western and central France endured their warmest night on record from Sunday into Monday, Meteo France reported.
Paris also sweltered through its hottest June night, with temperatures failing to dip below 75.5 F. By Monday afternoon, the French capital had set another June benchmark, reaching 99.9 F.
Forecasters cautioned that the nights ahead could be even hotter: “This will continue through the end of the week, with heat levels never before recorded across more than three-quarters of the country on Wednesday and Thursday.”
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The heat wave worsened air quality in Paris as it causes the formation of ozone that traps pollution. The air quality monitoring agency in the Paris region said pollutants were likely to exceed the recommended threshold.
In a country without widespread air-conditioning, people tried to adapt. Education minister Edouard Geffray said 1,352 schools were closed on Monday due to the heat, while several thousand adjusted their schedules, with students released earlier and classes relocated in air-conditioned rooms.
Deaths are reported in rivers and a parked car
A growing swath of France, spreading on Monday to more than half its regions, was under a “red alert” for heat, with areas forecast to suffer highs past 104 F and nights not dropping below 68 F.
Broadcasts on the Paris transport network urged commuters to hydrate. Medical specialists warned of the potentially deadly combination of drinking alcohol in extreme heat. Authorities cracked down on alcohol consumption in public.
Multiple drownings were reported as people sought relief in rivers, despite warnings about currents and other dangers.
Two children, aged 2 and 4, were found dead on Monday in their family’s car in a parking lot in the southern town of Carpentras, French media reported, quoting the public prosecutor’s office. Government messages warned parents not to leave children unattended in cars.
Heat warnings spread in Europe
In the United Kingdom, the weather office issued a rare “red” weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday, saying temperatures could exceed 99 F in the shade and could rise to 104 F in parts of England and Wales.
The Met Office said extreme temperatures could cause heat-sensitive equipment to fail, including power and mobile phone services.
Over the last four years, more than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes, and most of those were preventable, the World Health Organization’s Europe office said this month. The above-average temperatures can cause heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke.
