Power cuts in France leave thousands sweltering amid scorching heatwave
Grid operators worked through the night, but power was not expected back for all affected households until the end of Wednesday, officials said.
- On Tuesday, a heat-related transformer failure in Finistère left up to 106,000 customers without electricity, prompting French grid operators RTE and Enedis to work overnight restoring supply while prioritizing hospitals and retirement homes.
- Meteorologists attribute the extreme temperatures to a rare 'Omega block' weather pattern that traps a dome of hot air over Europe, preventing atmospheric relief and driving record-breaking heat since mid-June.
- French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu confirmed 40 heat-related drowning deaths since June 18 as citizens sought relief in unsupervised waters, prompting official warnings about dangerous swimming practices.
- The extreme conditions exposed ongoing gaps in infrastructure adaptation since the 2003 heatwave, with over 1,350 schools closing or modifying schedules while cities deployed emergency cooling measures for vulnerable populations.
- Climate change is increasing heatwave frequency and intensity, with the World Meteorological Organization noting Europe warms twice as fast as the global average, making future record-breaking temperatures increasingly likely.
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Extreme heat is melting national records across Europe, with more coming Thursday
Europe is experiencing punishing heatwaves, setting new temperature records and causing tragic deaths as young people drown in rivers and lakes. The climate crisis intensifies these extreme conditions, leading to economic losses and detrimental effects on human health and productivity.
The intense heat wave affecting Western Europe, responsible for more than 40 deaths in France alone, is being sustained by a meteorological pattern known as omega-blocking. See what this phenomenon is and whether climate change can make it more frequent in the coming years. What is omega-blocking? The omega-blocking gets that name because its format resembles the Greek letter: a central area of high pressure, associated with stable and warmer we…
More heat records expected as deadly ‘Omega’ heatwave grips Europe
Western Europe was in the grip of a deadly, record-setting heatwave on Wednesday that has killed dozens of people, closed schools, slowed trains, knocked out electricity and forced farmers to harvest grain at night.
UK swelters in another record-breaking heatwave
Schools are closing early and parents are buying air conditioning units for classrooms as the UK faces another record-breaking heatwave. Temperatures are expected to reach 39°C (102°F) this week. Britain is warming fast: Summer 2025 was the hottest on record, and this year has seen new spring peaks. But UK housing stock — Europe’s oldest — and infrastructure is built for a cooler climate. Compounding the problem are stringent restrictions on AC,…
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