Wildfire threats, extreme heat alerts on for Europe as heatwave engulfs region
The highest red heat alerts have been issued for 12 departments in southwest France, where temperatures as high as 43C (109F) are forecast for areas near Bordeaux and Toulouse on Monday and Tuesday.
Amber heat warnings are in place for a swath of the Mediterranean from Spain and Italy to Greece, as a high-pressure system is amplified by former tropical storm Dexter.
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat waves in Europe, the world's fastest warming continent. That's triggering more extreme weather events, including the deadly wildfires that ravaged Aude in southwest France last week.
Those fires, which destroyed houses and vineyards, killing one person and injuring 25, were brought under control on Sunday, local authorities said. However, about 1,300 firefighters are still working to fully extinguish the blaze, which burned 160 square miles — an area larger than Paris.
Wildfire risks are very high across much of Greece, including Athens and the surrounding Attica region, along with the largest islands of Crete and Evia. Temperatures are set to reach 41C in parts of the mainland.
Strong winds drove more than 90 wildfires across the country over the weekend, and two electricity workers were detained on Saturday over alleged negligence after a severed cable sparked a blaze in east Attica that burnt about 16 square kilometers.
Authorities have also issued red alerts in Croatia and Serbia, where temperatures of up to 38C will raise fire risks and stress power grids. Southern Spain could reach 42C, according to state forecaster AEMET.
Temperatures in London could hit the mid-30s on Tuesday, as the heat wave spreads across parts of the UK, according to the Met Office. The UK Health Security Agency has issued yellow weather alerts for all regions south of Yorkshire and warned that overnight lows in many areas might not drop below 20C.
Germany will also be impacted, with temperatures in the Upper Rhine climbing to 38C this week.
Cooling demand is forecast to surge in France during the heat wave, data from Atmospheric G2 and Bloomberg models show.
Electricite de France SA said last week it would likely need to curb output from nuclear plants along the Garonne and Rhone rivers, as high temperatures compromise reactor cooling procedures. On Monday, EDF said it planned to keep one Golfech unit in operation to meet electricity demand.
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