Khaberni - Europe is facing a new heatwave that required the implementation of preventive measures on Sunday, in France where alcohol consumption was banned during the Music Festival, while sports events were canceled in Spain and Germany, and Britain warned of "tropical" temperatures.
Less than a month after a heatwave that hit European countries in May during which record temperatures were recorded, the continent is facing a scorching wave that is expected to intensify in the coming days.
According to scientists, climate change caused by human activities makes extreme weather phenomena, including heatwaves, more intense and frequent.
France
France went ahead with celebrating the Music Festival on Sunday despite the heatwave, which led to the declaration of a red alert for Monday in half of the country's regions where alcohol consumption will be banned during the annual event due to the heat.
Several cities canceled the concerts planned for the forty-fifth edition of the Music Festival, the annual meeting of young and big artists in the country's streets and bars, with temperatures in some parts of the country exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, reaching 42.2 degrees Celsius in Biscosso in the Landes region in southwest France.
The municipalities of Paris, Lyon (Central East), and Strasbourg (East), opted to keep the event going, focusing on "organizing and supervising it instead of dealing with its repercussions," as the Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire stated.
However, the Louvre Museum in Paris announced the cancellation of a free music concert that was scheduled to be held under its glass pyramid due to the heat.
The authorities warned of risks associated with swimming after four boys drowned in France on Saturday.
In an effort to avoid health problems and disturbances of public order, alcohol consumption was banned in the vicinity of public roads, streets, and public places in the areas under red alert (highest level of warning from heatwaves) and others under orange alert.
In total, the red alerts on Sunday reached a record number of French provinces, totaling 35 (one third of its total number). An orange alert was declared in another 45 provinces.
About 53 million people live in areas that are under the red and orange alerts.
The situation is expected to worsen as the government announced that the red alert would cover half of France's regions on Monday.
The highest degree of alert will involve 49 of the 96 mainland French provinces or administrative regions, while the orange alert will cover another 40 provinces, according to "Meteo France."
It was decided to close 845 schools in France on Monday due to the heat, while 1800 other schools adjusted their hours of operation to cope with the weather condition.
The heatwave, centered in France, affects the south of Britain, Spain, Portugal, and Germany.
Germany
Organizers stopped the final match of the Berlin Open tennis tournament and evacuated the audience from the event site due to thunderstorms. The match resumed after six hours.
The temperature in the German capital rose to more than 30 degrees Celsius over the weekend, while storms swept across most of the country on Sunday.
Belgium
David Dehenauw, head of the forecasting department at the Royal Meteorological Institute in Belgium, expected the country to experience the "highest temperatures ever recorded for this period," noting that they exceeded 30 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
The National Railway Company announced the cancellation of some trips during peak hours on Monday and Tuesday to reduce the risk of malfunctions that could disrupt train traffic.
Spain
An orange alert was declared in 13 of Spain's 17 regions on Sunday, while a red alert was announced in the Basque region bordering France.
A public broadcast of the Spain vs. Saudi Arabia match in the FIFA World Cup was canceled in Madrid after the National Meteorological Agency predicted temperatures to reach 40 degrees Celsius in the capital.
Spain officially announced the first heatwave of this year from Sunday to Wednesday, with temperatures expected to reach 44 degrees Celsius in some areas.
In Spain and neighboring Portugal, people flocked to the beaches, widely using hand fans and umbrellas.
Switzerland
The Swiss Meteorological Authority warned of a "severe heatwave" expected to raise temperatures to 37 degrees Celsius, with warnings issued in the lowland areas.
Britain
The British Met Office expanded the severe heat warning to include an orange alert for most regions of England and Wales from Monday to Thursday, predicting temperatures in some areas to reach 38 degrees Celsius.
The office stated, "The temperatures during the night will also be very high, with tropical nights where the temperature does not drop below 20 degrees Celsius in the southern parts of England."
