France put emergency services and the military on alert for wildfires, restricted public drinking and canceled some outdoor sporting events to deal with a heat wave that is scorching parts of Europe.
About a third of France is under a red heat alert for Sunday, with temperatures expected to reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas. The forecast for Monday is even hotter.
National and local authorities across Europe have announced a number of measures to reduce the risk of heatstroke. The Eiffel Tower and other places in Paris set up cooling stations for the crowds. Tourists in Rome sought help from the fountains. Spain’s Basque Country has canceled some sporting and cultural events.
The annual French Music Day on Sunday is a big concern. The national celebration of the summer solstice involves thousands of concerts in town squares, raves and clubs in Paris, bringing communities together and attracting British and international visitors.
The French government has banned public drinking in “red alert” areas, and has ordered organizers of music day events to limit alcohol consumption to “preserve emergency services and allow doctors to focus on caring for the most vulnerable.”
Thibault Camus via AP
High temperatures threaten thousands
In a region where air conditioning is rare, this type of heat is deadly. More than 200,000 people across Europe have died from heat-related causes in the past four years, and most of those deaths were preventable, the World Health Organization’s European office said this month. Above-average temperatures are expected this summer, which can cause heat exhaustion and life-threatening heatstroke.
It is caused by people climate change tied to an increase in extreme weather events and UN climate agency projections say the next five years should break more heat records. A rapid study found that human-caused climate change was responsible for the deaths of around 1,500 people during Europe’s hot weather last month.
Authorities are particularly concerned about people living on the streets, and the elderly in nursing homes or alone in their homes. About 15,000 elderly people died in France in the 2003 heat wave that became the country’s toll.
The government announced increased bushfire preparedness and ordered tighter monitoring of water at several French nuclear plants, and ordered 845 schools to close on Monday.
Some trains in France were cancelled, and the national railway authorities sent thousands of workers to deal with possible problems as the heat threatened the tracks and power cables.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu called a new government heat meeting on Sunday, and ordered government ministers to plan to better prepare France for future heat waves – including “with air conditioning, if necessary.”
Michael Probst via AP 
Spain, Italy, Germany swelter
Spain has started summer with large parts of the country on high alert due to temperatures expected to hover around 104 degrees – even within the Basque Country, a region in the north that usually has cooler temperatures.
Authorities have suspended outdoor sports and cultural activities in the region. A heat wave is expected to scorch Spain until at least Wednesday.
In Italy, authorities extended heat warnings – called “red flags” – in eight cities on Sunday in the northern and central regions of the country. Temperatures range from the high 90s to the low 100s.
At one farm outside Milan, the owners set up fans and sprinklers to keep the cows cool. In Rome, tourists dipped their arms and occasionally looked into the city’s famous fountains.
Thunderstorms also threatened several districts.
Britain’s Met Office issued an “extreme heat” warning for much of southern England and parts of Wales on Monday and Tuesday, saying temperatures could exceed 95 degrees, just one degree below the record, set in 1976, for the hottest June day on record.
In Germany, temperatures soared into the mid-90s. A 23-year-old man drowned on Saturday in a lake near Rheinstetten in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, the German news agency dpa reported. Three other people went missing after swimming in the Rhine River, which has strong currents, a police spokesman told dpa.
French media reported that four children drowned on Saturday.
