France experiences hottest night in nearly 80 years

Paris, June 23 : The night from Monday to Tuesday was the hottest recorded in France since national meteorological records began in 1947, with the national nighttime heat indicator, calculated from data at 30 meteorological stations across the country, reaching 21.6 degrees Celsius, Meteo-France said on Tuesday.

According to the meteorological institute, 54 departments in mainland France were placed under red heatwave alert, the highest alert level, on Tuesday, while 35 departments were placed under orange alert, Xinhua news agency reported.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday that around 40 people have drowned in France since June 18, mostly young people, news channel BFMTV reported. He also said that an interministerial crisis unit has been mobilised to respond to the heatwave.

France is experiencing an intense heatwave, with temperatures expected to remain exceptionally high until at least Thursday and potentially exceed the country's national average temperature record for the month of June, Meteo-France said on Monday.

The national average temperature reached 29.2 degrees Celsius at 5 pm (1500 GMT) on Monday, according to Meteo-France. The agency said the national average could surpass the record of 29.4 degrees Celsius for June and could reach 30 degrees Celsius by midweek.

French Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on Monday that 1,352 schools and middle schools were closed due to the heatwave, while 4,042 others had introduced special arrangements to cope with the extreme temperatures.

Meanwhile, Poland is expected to experience an intense heatwave, with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the country, the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) said on Monday.

According to the IMGW forecast, temperatures will rise gradually through the week, with the heat expected to peak on June 28 and 29. Temperatures in the Zgorzelec and Jelenia Gora areas of Lower Silesia could reach 39 to 40 degrees Celsius, while the Baltic coast and central Poland are expected to record around 36 degrees Celsius.

The heatwave is forecast to last three to four days before cooler weather arrives, the IMGW said.

Health authorities have warned that extreme temperatures pose serious risks, particularly for the elderly, children and those with chronic illnesses