France, UK Brace for Record Temperatures

By Staff, Agencies

France was on high alert on Monday as the peak of a punishing heatwave gripped the country, while wildfires raging in parts of southwest Europe showed no sign of abating.

Forecasters have put 15 French departments on the highest state of alert for extreme temperatures as neighboring Britain was poised to set new heat records this coming week.

The heatwave is the second to engulf parts of southwest Europe in weeks, and blazes burning in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain have destroyed thousands of hectares of land and forced thousands of residents and holidaymakers to flee.

Scientists blame climate change for this rise in temperature and predict more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather such as heatwaves and drought.

In France's Landes forest, in the southwest Aquitaine region, temperatures "will be above 42 degrees Celsius" on Monda,y forecaster Olivier Proust said.

Meanwhile Brittany, which until recently has escaped the worst of the heat, could register temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius, say experts, which would be a record for the region.

In the southwestern Gironde region, firefighters over the weekend continued to fight to control forest blazes that have devoured nearly 11,000 hectares since Tuesday.

In the United Kingdom, the weather office issued a first-ever "red" warning for extreme heat, cautioning there was a "risk to life."

The Met Office said temperatures in southern England could exceed 40C on Monday or Tuesday for the first time, leading some schools to say they would stay closed next week.