Europe's heatwave shatters British records, drives wildfires

For the first time on record, Britain suffered under temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius — 104 Fahrenheit — on Tuesday, as a ferocious heat wave moved northwest, leaving a trail of raging wildfires, lost lives and evacuated homes across a Europe frighteningly ill-equipped to cope with the new reality of extreme weather.

While the heat’s effects cascaded from Greece to Scotland, the greatest damage was in fire-ravaged France. More than 2,000 firefighters battled blazes that have burned nearly 80 square miles of parched forest in the Gironde area of the country’s southwest, forcing more than 37,000 people to evacuate in the past week.

Temperatures fell overnight Monday, but the efforts of the firefighters have been hampered by fierce gusts of wind, arid conditions and scorched trees that sent fiery embers through the air, further spreading the flames.

Also Read | UK breaches 40C temperature for first time: Met Office

Spain, Italy and Greece also endured major wildfires, and in London, a series of grass fires erupted around the capital Tuesday afternoon, burning several homes.

The temperature in Paris reached 40.5 C (104.9 F) on Tuesday. The city had recorded temperatures above 40 only twice before, in 1947 and 2019, according to the national weather forecaster.

Amid the Guinness Book-style excitement at falling records was a somber recognition of the human cost of dangerous heat waves. The police in London said they had recovered a body from the Thames River and believed it to be that of a 14-year-old boy who went missing while swimming Monday.

As temperatures soared, fears for residents of nursing homes also rose. Residential nursing homes are not equipped to deal with extreme heat.

Also Read | Why Europe is becoming a heatwave hotspot

“The last 48 hours have been unprecedented, so that’s a massive concern,” said Helen Wildbore, the director of the Relatives & Residents Association, a national charity for older people in care homes and their relatives. She said that the organization’s helpline had been inundated with calls in the last week.

Amid all the sweltering, there was a promise of relief: Forecasters across Europe said the heat would ease its grip by midweek. In Britain, some showers were expected, and temperatures were forecast to plunge, staying below 80 F in most of the country Wednesday.