FORTY PEOPLE, PRIMARILY young people, have drowned in France over the past five days as they sought to cool off during a heatwave that has overtaken Europe.

Britain, France, Italy and Spain issued red alerts and health warnings in the record-breaking heat. In Ireland, temperatures have been forecast to reach up to 31 degrees this week.

France has been hit particularly hard. In the western city of Nantes, highs of 43 degrees have been forecast for today. The country has reported a number of heat-related deaths, including that of two children who were found dead in their family car.

On the night of Monday leading into Tuesday, it had its hottest night since records began in 1947. Over 1,350 schools were closed on Monday.

The UK’s Met Office issued its second-ever red heat warning for parts of central and south England on Wednesday and Thursday as dozens of schools planned to close early today and shut until Friday. A red heat warning indicates a risk to life and the possibility of major infrastructure being closed.

Temperatures have been forecast to reach up to 40 degrees.

The Met Office’s chief scientist Stephen Belcher described the heat in the UK as “sobering” and pointed to human-induced climate change as increasing the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather events.

Rail passengers have been urged not to travel unless absolutely necessary. A large number of trains have been cancelled by operators in advance of the worst of the heat.

Nearly all of Spain is under a heat alert, with parts of the south and north of the country on the highest warning level. Italy has placed 15 of its cities under a red heat alert.

Additional reporting by AFP

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