France Issues Red Alerts for Heat Wave With Highs Above 40 C

France entered a week of record temperatures Monday, with daytime highs above 40 C and nighttime lows remaining above 20 C across more than half the country's regions. The national weather service placed a growing number of departments under red alert, the highest level, and said conditions are not expected to ease before Friday.

Hundreds of schools closed Monday, while many others canceled some classes, the education minister said. Paris transport broadcasts urged commuters to drink water. Authorities restricted public alcohol consumption and medical specialists warned on airwaves about the risks of drinking in extreme heat.

Multiple drownings occurred as people entered rivers for relief, despite warnings about currents. The United Kingdom issued an extreme heat warning for southern England and parts of Wales through Thursday, with forecasts reaching 38 C. Over the last four years, more than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes, most of them preventable, the World Health Organization's Europe office said this month.