Up to 42 deg C: Heatwave triggers weather and wildfire alerts across Europe

PARIS – Europe is bracing itself for wildfire threats and scorching weather, as a heatwave

engulfs the continent

this week.

The highest red heat alerts have been issued for 12 departments in south-west France, where temperatures as high as 43 deg C are forecast for areas near Bordeaux and Toulouse on Aug 11 and 12.

Amber heat warnings are in place for a swathe 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 heatwaves in Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent. That is triggering more extreme weather events, including the deadly wildfires that ravaged Aude in south-west France last week.

Those fires, which destroyed houses and vineyards, killing one person and injuring 25, were

brought under control

on Aug 10, the local authorities said.

However, about 1,300 firefighters are still working to fully extinguish the blaze, which burned 400 sq km, 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 41 deg C in parts of the mainland.

Strong winds drove more than 90 wildfires across Greece over the weekend, and two electricity workers were detained on Aug 9 over alleged negligence after a severed cable sparked a blaze in east Attica that burnt about 16 sq km.

The authorities have also issued red alerts in Croatia and Serbia, where temperatures of up to 38 deg C will raise fire risks and stress power grids.

Southern Spain could reach 42 deg C, according to state forecaster Aemet.

Temperatures in London could hit the mid-30s on Aug 12, as the heatwave spreads across parts of Britain, 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 20 deg C.

Germany will also be impacted, with temperatures in the Upper Rhine climbing to 38 deg C this week.

Cooling demand is forecast to surge in France during the heatwave, data from Atmospheric G2 and Bloomberg models show.

Electricite de France has said it will likely need to curb output from nuclear plants along the Garonne and Rhone rivers, as high temperatures compromise reactor cooling procedures.

On Aug 11, it said it planned to keep one Golfech unit in operation to meet electricity demand. BLOOMBERG