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Europe swelters under heat wave
LONDON, England -- From Russia to the Iberian Peninsula to Britain, temperatures have soared to the highest levels in decades. And the mercury is still rising, according to weather officials. "The coming days could approach or beat this maximum," Dominique Escale of Meteo France, the French national weather service, told The Associated Press. "This is a very, very hot summer." Londoners experienced the hottest day in the city's history on Wednesday as the temperature hit 35.9C (96.6F.) The city's famous London Eye was closed to passengers as temperatures inside the capsules rose to nearly 30C. (Full story) In Spain, 14 people -- mostly elderly -- died during a week of suffocating heat. And temperatures in the high 30s Celsius (upper 90s Fahrenheit) caused five deaths in the northern German town of Holzminden over the weekend. Meanwhile, forest fires -- fanned by heat, high winds and drought -- have killed more than a dozen people in Portugal, Spain and France in the past week. (Full story) The heat wave has forced authorities in France, where temperatures jumped to about 40C (104F) Monday, to spray cold water on the walls of the country's main nuclear reactors. Temperatures at the nuclear plant rose to two degrees short of the point requiring an emergency shutdown. "The idea is to wet the reactor walls on the side that's most exposed to sunlight," Joseph Sanchez, the plant's assistant director, told AP. "We can't say if it works yet." In Germany, power company E.On said it had cut production at two of its nuclear power plants by up to 50 percent over the past few weeks due to concerns over high temperatures. Construction of a soccer stadium in Munich was stopped Monday because engineers feared that temperatures reaching 36C (97F) could cause cracks in the structure. At the same time, German authorities are advising people to cut back on strenuous exercise, with temperatures expected to reach a high of 40C (104F) Wednesday. Italians are braced for more hot weather as well, as scores of residents and tourists in Tuscany were evacuated from homes and holiday residences on Wednesday. Firefighters were battling to quell fires on the island of Elba, 10 km (6 miles) off the Tuscan coast, and in the Versilia area, 35 km (22 miles) north of Pisa, said the civil defense department. Other blazes broke out in the northwestern region of Liguria and in Campania, in southern Italy. No injuries were reported from the fires which broke out Tuesday night, civil defense spokesman, Luca Spoletini, told AP. At least 25 people have been treated for heat exhaustion, heat stroke and dehydration in the usually cool, northeastern city of Trieste, Dr. Sergio Gregorutti of the Cattinara hospital told AP. Workers in the Netherlands swamped a labor union with queries as to whether they could stay at home because of the heat. They were told no, but they could wear shorts and take longer breaks. In Britain, the heat wave has claimed the lives of two teenaged boys in separate drowning incidents. Temperatures are expected to reach 36C (96.8F) in central London, the northern and western home counties later on Wednesday, the Met office told CNN. Speculation remains over whether the temperatures will surpass the all-time record of 37.1C (99F), set in 1990. The heat has already prompted the country's rail network to impose speed restrictions on a wide range of lines due to the risk of rails buckling. Passengers have been warned of extended journey times. Speed limits were cut to 60 mph (100 km/h) from the more usual 90-120 mph and could go even lower. Animals are also feeling the effects of the heat wave. At the London Zoo, staff have been giving ice lollies with rosemary to the tigers to help cool them down -- a standard practice during hot summer days. Monkeys and bears are being fed fruit lollies. In Spain, an association of poultry producers warned of higher chicken prices because of lower supply. The heat causes chicks to take up to 50 days to mature, compared with 45 normally. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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