French authorities imposed precautions nationwide in anticipation of peak temperatures on Tuesday, with some areas bracing for highs of 41C in a heatwave that has gripped all of Europe.
Temperatures in France were expected to hit a peak on Tuesday, according to the Météo France weather agency, with the highest extreme heat warning in place in 16 departments across the country, including the Paris region.
A total of 68 others were on the second-highest level of orange.
Météo France forecast very high minimums ranging from 20-24 degrees Celsius "or slightly higher in some localised areas, and maximums reaching 36 to 40C with some peaks at 41C".
Operators of the Eiffel Tower in Paris shut the summit of the 330-metre high landmark at 1100 GMT on Monday and said it would remain closed on Tuesday and Wednesday "due to the current heatwave".
Access to the first and second floors remained open but operators still urged caution.
"Remember to protect yourself from the sun and stay hydrated. Water fountains are available in the walkways leading to the esplanade," they said.
Regulated traffic, schools closed
Across the Ile-de-France region which includes Paris, police said all but the least polluting vehicles would be banned from the roads from 0330 GMT to 2200 GMT because of high ozone pollution levels.
Speed limits of 20 kilometres per hour would also remain in some places.
Across the country, the government said it expected nearly 1,350 schools to be partially or completely shut – nearly double the number on Monday – with teachers complaining of overheated and unventilated classrooms making students unwell.
Warnings were issued for young children, older people and those with chronic illnesses.
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As of Tuesday, new workplace health and safety rules come into force across France to deal with heatwaves.
Employers must adapt schedules, particularly for arduous, outdoor work and adjust rest periods.
Workstations must also "be designed to cushion the effects of solar radiation and heat accumulation," and the employer must ensure that employees have access to drinking water.
"Heatwaves are deadly," said Akshay Deoras, a research scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, west of London.
"We need to treat extreme heat with the same seriousness we give to dangerous storms."
Red alerts across Europe
Mediterranean countries from the Iberian peninsula through France and Italy to the Balkans and Greece have been sweltering in a heatwave for several days, prompting health warnings and alerts about increased risk of wildfires.
Portugal will see some respite on Tuesday after two days on red alert in several regions, including Lisbon, and warnings will be downgraded to orange alert in all but eight areas inland.
But temperatures were still expected to reach 40C in the central city of Castel Branco, Beja and Evora in the south, and 34C in the capital.
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Similar temperatures in the high 30s to mid 40s were forecast in Spain after they soared to 46C in the south – a new record for June, according to the national weather agency.
Red alerts have been issued for 18 Italian cities in the coming days, including Rome, Milan, Verona, Perugia and Palermo, as well as across the Adriatic on the Croatian coast and Montenegro.
Italy also experienced another type of extreme weather event on Monday when a flash flood in the northern region of Piedmont caused by heavy rains killed a 70-year-old man.
Authorities announced on Tuesday that France-Italy train travel would be suspended for "at least several days" after storms.
"We are increasingly faced with emergency situations due to weather events that we used to call exceptional but are now more and more frequent," said the president of the region, Alberto Cirio, on social media.
The Mediterranean Sea itself recorded a new June high of 26.01C on Sunday, according to French weather service scientist Thibault Guinaldo, citing data from EU monitor Copernicus.
The risk of forest fires remains high in a number of Portuguese regions. On Monday night, some 250 firefighters were tackling a blaze in the southern Aljustrel area.
In Turkey, rescuers evacuated more than 50,000 people threatened by a string of wildfires, most from the western province of Izmir, where winds of 120 kilometres per hour fanned the blazes.
France and Greece have also been tackling wildfires.
(with AFP)
