Heatwave Prompts Red Alerts Across Parts of Europe

Half of France will be placed on red alert for Monday as temperatures are forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius across much of mainland Europe. France has already activated emergency services and military units for bushfire response, restricted public alcohol sales and cancelled some outdoor sports events.

Temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the country on Sunday, and authorities expect higher readings on Monday. The Eiffel Tower and other Paris sites installed misting stations. Some French trains were cancelled, and the national rail authority added staff to monitor tracks and cables.

Authorities ordered 845 schools closed on Monday and directed tighter monitoring of water supplies for nuclear reactors. Officials cited concern for elderly residents living alone or in nursing homes. Italy expanded red-flag warnings to eight northern and central cities, where temperatures are mostly in the upper 30s.

French media reported four children drowned on Saturday while seeking relief in waterways. A 23-year-old man drowned in a lake near Rheinstetten, Germany, and three others are missing after entering the Rhine River. The World Health Organization's Europe office stated that more than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes in the past four years, most of them preventable.