Europe sizzles to a new heat record

BERLIN» Torrid weather gripped large parts of western and central Europe on Wednesday, setting new June temperature records in Germany and the Czech Republic.

Some French schools stayed closed as a precaution because of worrying hot weather.

German weather agency Deutscher Wetterdienst said a preliminary reading showed the mercury reached 101.5 Fahrenheit in Coschen, near the Polish border. That’s one-tenth of a degree higher than the previous national record for June, set in 1947 in southwestern Germany.

The Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute said the temperature reached 101.3 in Doksany — a Czech Republic high for the month. New daily records were set at about 80 percent of local measuring stations.

And it’s about to get even hotter.

Authorities have warned that temperatures could top 104 F in parts of continental Europe in the coming days as a plume of dry, hot air moves north from Africa.

Professor Hannah Cloke, a natural hazards researcher at Britain’s University of Reading, said the heat along with a buildup of humidity was a “potentially lethal combination.”

“Children, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions are particularly at risk,” she said.

Precautionary measures also were taken in France, where temperatures up to 102 Fahrenheit are forecast for the Paris area this week.

Similarly baking conditions are expected in much of the country, from the Pyrenees in the southwest to the German border in the northeast.

Because such high temperatures are rare in France, most homes and many buildings do not have air conditioning.

In Paris on Wednesday authorities banned older cars from the city for the day as the heat aggravates pollution.

Regional authorities estimated the measure, targeting vehicles including gasoline cars from 2005 or older and diesel cars from 2010 or older, affects nearly 60 percent of vehicles in the Paris region. Violators face fines.

French charities and local officials were providing extra help for the elderly, the homeless and the sick this week, remembering that about 15,000 people, many of them elderly, died in France during a 2003 heat wave.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe cited the heat wave as evidence of climate destabilization and vowed to intensify the government’s fight against climate change.

The scorching heat was felt on the streets of Vienna, too.

“We’re slightly below (100) degrees right now,” said Wolfgang Fasching, driver of one of the city’s traditional horse-drawn carriages. “We go home because then the horses in Vienna get time off due to excessive heat.”

With temperatures in Milan forecast to hit 110, an aid group said it was preparing to distribute 10,000 bottles of water to the homeless and other needy people. The Civil Protection service in Rome also planned to distribute water to people at risk during the hottest hours of the day.

About half of Spain’s provinces are on alert for high temperatures, which are expected to rise as the weekend approaches.

The northeastern city of Zaragoza was forecast to be the hottest on Wednesday at 108, building to 114 on Saturday, according to government weather agency AEMET.

Some tourists sought relief in Madrid’s green spaces.

“It is pretty hot right now. We are dealing with it by trying to stay in the shade here in the park,” said Victoria Poliak from San Diego.