Paris – Europeans were urged to stay cool on Friday as a record-breaking heatwave that has melted roads, jangled nerves and killed 31 people across half the continent looked set to last another week.
In France, medical authorities said 22 people have now died from the heat – up from nine two days ago.
They include a child of 15 months, four labourers and two homeless people.
The updated count brought to 31 the number of people who are believed to have died since the start of the week in western Europe, including two new victims reported in Spain.
The Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said there was a rise of 168 in the number of deaths in the first week of July above the average – which it said was linked to the heatwave.
“This does not mean that these people were killed by the heat. But if someone has a particular cardiovascular or breathing problem, then heat can be a trigger,” said CBS researcher Carl Harmsen.
French forecasters placed the eastern half of the country on “orange” alert – the second highest level – warning of more peaks at the weekend.
Temperatures of 38°C
Temperatures were expected to reach 38°C in the Rhone valley.
The state-run Meteo-France weather centre advised the public to keep windows and shutters closed during the day and allow air indoors only at night.
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