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About 50 dead in Paris from heat wave, doctor says
PARIS, France (CNN) -- About 50 people have died from heat-related causes in the last four days in the Paris region, said a medical official in France Monday, as scorching temperatures continued to bake much of Europe. In a television interview a day after Parisians sweated through their hottest night on record, the head of France's emergency physicians' association, Patrick Pelloux, criticized the country's surgeon general for characterizing the deaths as natural. "They dare to talk about ... natural deaths. I absolutely do not agree with saying that," Pelloux told TF1 television. A weather station in southern Paris reported Monday it had recorded 25.5 degrees Celsius (77.9 Fahrenheit) overnight, the highest nighttime low since France started keeping records in 1873. The previous record was 24C (75.2F), recorded on the night of July 4, 1976. Britain saw record-breaking temperatures Sunday with the mercury passing the 100F (37.8C) mark for the first time since UK record-keeping began. France's national weather service Meteo France said Monday the sweltering temperatures were unlikely to break until later into the week. Temperatures of 37C (98.6F) were predicted for Paris and 40C (104F) for Lisbon, Portugal. Across Europe the heat has been blamed for dozens of deaths, including a 3-year-old French girl who died in a parked car Sunday. The French government was expected to respond Monday to criticism about its handling of the heat wave. Health Ministry spokesman Mathieu Monnet told The Associated Press the ministry does not have figures on heat-related deaths. France exempted its nuclear power stations from rules protecting rivers on Monday to help them meet surging demand for electricity from homes and businesses hit by weeks of sweltering heat. This means the 58 plants can put the water they use back into rivers at higher temperatures than usually allowed -- a step that was agreed to in a bid to stave off power blackouts.
A government official did not elaborate on the extent of the exemptions agreed to at an emergency meeting in Paris. The Bugey power station near Lyon on the Rhone river has already had to request a special exemption to let water back into the river beyond the normal temperature limits. Germany is expected to remain hot until midweek. The Bavarian city of Roth recorded Germany's highest temperature 40.5C (105F) on Saturday. Spain's National Meteorological Institute predicted temperatures approaching 42C will continue for at least another week. Five people were found dead Monday after trying to flee a forest fire near Barcelona. The bodies of the victims -- apparently all from the same family -- were found lying close to each other. (Full story) The heat and drought-driven fires across the continent prompted Pope John Paul II Sunday to urge people to pray for rain. (Full story) Fires continue in Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, France and other arid areas across the continent. In the French Alps, a police officer warned hikers about avalanches along a popular route on Mont Blanc. Glacial ice is melting, loosening rocks from the mountainside. On Saturday, helicopters evacuated 44 climbers in danger, police said. Britain's national weather service, the Met Office, on Sunday recorded the country's first reading above 100F -- 100.22F (37.9C) at Heathrow Airport, near London, a spokesman told CNN. Later a new national record of 38.1C was recorded at Gravesend in southern England. (Full story) In central and northern England however, the heat triggered violent storms Sunday. In Birmingham, 15 people were treated in hospital after being hit by lightning during a football match. Lightning also struck six people at a nearby agriculture show. 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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