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Paris heat wave 'kills 100'
PARIS, France (CNN) -- At least 100 people have died from heat-related causes in the last eight days in the Paris area as scorching temperatures continue to bake much of Europe, according to a French medical official. Patrick Pelloux of France's emergency doctors' association said about 50 deaths in the past four days pushed the total number of heat-related deaths since August 4 above 100. "We are not in the slightest bit prepared for this catastrophe because it is historic," said Pelloux, who has criticized the government's surgeon general for characterizing the deaths as natural. "It is the first time that we have been confronted by so many incoming of patients because of such significant temperatures," Pelloux said. Doctors have warned that many more people will die unless the government acknowledges there is a crisis. The French Health Ministry responded to the criticism Monday, insisting there has been no massive increase in emergencies, even if more elderly people were being admitted to hospital. The government said it was unclear if the heat was to blame. "People don't come in with 'dying of heat' on their foreheads," The Associated Press quoted Stephane Grossier of the Health Ministry as saying. "Things are not as simple as they seem." But doctors say the heat wave is worse than that endured by Chicago in 1995, when 700 people died from heat-related illnesses in the U.S. city. "In Chicago, for three days temperatures were reaching 37 degrees Celcius (98.6 Fahrenheit). Here we have had temperatures reaching 40 C (104 F) and above in Paris for almost 10 days," Pelloux said. Doctors say this is not just a Parisian problem, but that cities in the south of France are better equipped to deal with the heat wave. Paris hospitals are struggling to cope, with 500 new cases of heat-related illness admitted over the past three days. Medics are trying to free up as many hospital beds as they can in Paris, canceling non-urgent procedures and operations. Some staff are also voluntarily foregoing their holidays or coming back from breaks to help out. Also, funeral directors say demands for their services has risen sharply since the heat wave took hold, AP said. France's largest undertaker, Les Pompes funebres generales, said it has handled 50 percent more bodies in Paris and that the increase was "tied to the heat wave." French power giant EDF also is struggling against the heat, with its chairman urging consumers to limit their electricity use. "We are mobilizing all possible means to develop production," Francois Roussely told RTL radio, AP said. "The biggest danger would be to lose electricity." On Monday, France exempted its nuclear power stations from rules protecting rivers in a bid to meet surging demand for electricity and stave off power blackouts. The plants can now put the cooling water they use back into rivers at higher temperatures than usually allowed. Two German states also temporarily raised cooling water temperature limits from nuclear plants, while Swiss power officials cut output rather than put hotter water into the country's rivers, Reuters reported.
Elsewhere across Europe, officials have reported at least 45 heat-related deaths, including five people found dead after trying to flee a forest fire near Barcelona, Spain. Forecasters are predicting relief by the weekend, if not sooner. Dominique Escale of Meteo France said temperatures throughout France were expected to drop by midweek, although they would remain well above average, AP reported. Spain's weather service said there would be another week of heat before a cold front moved in from the Atlantic, Reuters reported. "We're going to see a complete change, with a definite drop (in temperatures) on Friday and a little more on Saturday," a spokeswoman for Portugal's weather service said. Temperatures were cooler in Britain after the nation recorded its hottest day ever Sunday -- 38.1C (100.5 F) at Gravesend in Kent, southern England. 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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