Two Children Found Dead in Car in Southern France; Heat Listed as Leading Inquiry

Two children aged two and four were found dead inside a family car in the southern French town of Carpentras on Monday. Investigators said the heatwave was the most likely cause. French authorities reported that 13 people, including a 13-year-old girl, drowned over the weekend and overnight while seeking relief from the heat.

Three elderly people also died due to heat-related causes in France. In Germany, police said five people died in swimming accidents over the weekend amid the hot weather. French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist stated the country was facing several more days of extreme temperatures.

"We're heading for, at the very least, several days of very, very hot weather. We don't know when temperatures will start falling," she said. Rail services were reduced in parts of France and Belgium due to the heatwave.

Schools shut early in Britain. Power utilities in Italy reported increased pressure on electricity networks as air-conditioning use surged. A study published on Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change found that the share of the global population experiencing at least one day of extreme heat stress each year rose from 16 per cent in the 1970s to 22 per cent by 2024.

The same study found that exposure to dangerous heat stress has increased worldwide over the past five decades, exposing roughly one billion more people to potentially dangerous conditions. The study found that heatwaves are becoming more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting, with Europe among the regions warming fastest.