A deadly heat wave sweeping across Europe prompted authorities to issue health warnings Thursday, with France banning public alcohol consumption in Paris and warning that hospitals were nearing capacity as soaring temperatures strained public services across the continent.
The heat wave affected at least 101 million Europeans with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees C (95 degrees F). Authorities across the continent linked more than 220 deaths to the extreme heat.
French and British health services reported a surge in emergency calls and visits as the extreme heat affected the elderly and ill.
France and Spain reported deaths from the extreme temperatures, including a 3-year-old boy who was trapped in his family's car
"We are reaching a saturation point in hospital facilities," Paris police Prefect Patrice Faure said. "The number of hospitalizations keeps increasing."
In Paris, 25 cardiac arrests were recorded over 24 hours Wednesday, compared with fewer than 10 typically, the office of Health Minister Stephanie Rist said.
Nationally, she said emergency room visits for heat-related reasons increased fourfold.
London Ambulance Service said the extreme heat Wednesday led to the highest number of life-threatening emergency calls in a day.
AFP calculations, based on forecasts from the German weather service and 2025 population projections from the European Joint Research Center, indicated more than 380 million people would face temperatures exceeding 30 C.
U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell said the heat wave, made worse by buildings and infrastructure unsuited to such temperatures, "has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it."
"Until humanity stops burning large amounts of coal, oil and gas, extreme heat will keep getting worse," he added.
At a community cooling center in West London, Alley, 45, who has a disability, fanned his face, saying it was "baking" outside.
Last month when temperatures reached record levels, "I was in the hospital because my blood pressure medication stopped working," he said.
"This time, I've kept more hydrated and I come here with my water bottle," he said.
Authorities said heat "likely" caused three deaths in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France. A prosecutor said a 3-year-old boy was found dead in a car in the Paris suburbs, where temperatures exceeded 40 C Wednesday. Two other children also died in similar circumstances in France this week.
Faure said public alcohol consumption and sales were banned in the French capital from Friday.
In Spain, where temperature records have been set for June, the MoMo mortality rate monitoring system said 212 deaths between Sunday and Wednesday were linked to the heat.
Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper reported five deaths from the heat wave, including two farmworkers and a builder.
In Germany, where temperatures were in the upper 30s C and expected to reach 40 C over the weekend, several outdoor events were canceled.
Rail operator Deutsche Bahn told customers to avoid travel due to a high risk of disruption from wildfires, heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Switzerland set a June record of 38 C while the Netherlands issued its first red-alert heat warning.
The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service Deputy Director Samantha Burgess said the hot weather was due to a "heat dome" of trapped air from North Africa in a low-lying high-pressure system, preventing cooler air from moving in.
Temperatures reached 36.4 C in Yeovilton, southwestern England, on Thursday, making it the hottest June day ever recorded, the Met Office weather service said.
At the Kingsley Court care home in Hayes, western London, resident Lucine Nazikian said the world needed to take the heat wave seriously.
"Nature is angry with us because we destroy everything," she said.
Polly Turton, head of climate action at the NGO Shade the U.K., said the situation was "the new normal." She added, "The sleepless nights we're all experiencing, we are going to have to adapt to."
"At the moment, we are not a well-adapted U.K. by any means," she said.
Temperatures were expected to fall in Western Europe from Friday, but Eastern Europe was on red alert as temperatures climbed into the weekend.
