Europe Heat Builds as Some French Citizens Told to Stay Home

The heat wave that’s baking continental Europe is spreading further as citizens in southeast France were told to stay at home for most of the day.

(Bloomberg) — The heat wave that’s baking continental Europe is spreading further as citizens in southeast France were told to stay at home for most of the day. 

Rising temperatures prompted an orange warning for Lyon and Grenoble by Europe’s network of national meteorological services, which told people in those areas that “everyone is in danger, even those in good health” and warned them not to go out between 11am and 9pm. French nuclear production is also likely to be curbed from Saturday because of cooling water restrictions. 

Over the next few days, southern and central France will reach 5C to 9C (9F to 16F) above normal, according to Maxar Technologies Inc. Marseille will hit 35C on Saturday with the mercury not dropping below 30.5C for more than a week, the forecaster said in a daily report. Paris is also poised to get hotter early next week. 

Read more: EDF Likely to Curb Nuclear Output From Saturday Amid Hot Weather

Extreme weather has hit the Northern Hemisphere from the US to China this summer, bringing fires, floods and violent storms as climate change increases the intensity of heat waves. That comes after the world’s hottest ever month in July.

“Above-normal temperatures remain the supported outcome across the continent this week, the strongest anomalies focused during the latter part” of the 1-5 day forecasting range, Maxar said. 

In Germany, where the heat wave have caused panic as the nation is not equipped for extreme heat, temperatures in Frankfurt will peak at 31.5C on Tuesday, with a few degrees below that through this week. 

Further south, a sub-Saharan anti-cyclone is ramping up the heat in Italy, with temperatures set to peak at 42C in Sardinia and 38C in Rome, Florence and most of the Po Valley, according to Italy’s Il Meteo. 

The latest place to enjoy some heat after a prolonged period of cold and wet weather is Amsterdam, where temperatures will fluctuate from 2 to 4C above the norm, reaching 26.5C on Friday, according to Maxar. 

(Updates with comment from Maxar in fifth paragraph.)

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