PARIS: At least 40 people have been killed in France due to drowning accidents related to extremely hot weather conditions in the country, which is currently facing a serious heat wave in much of Europe, according to officials.
As per the report issued by French officials, people have lost their lives recently while trying to relieve themselves from excessive heat by swimming in hazardous and uncontrolled locations. The majority of the dead persons are believed to be young people who tried to protect themselves from the extreme heat.
Prime Minister of France Sébastien Lecornu called these deaths a very unfortunate event and a direct outcome of climate change that is affecting the world.
The country’s national meteorological department reported that temperatures in southwestern France rose up to 43°C (109°F) on Tuesday and the nation witnessed the warmest night ever recorded in its history on Monday and Tuesday.
It was reported by the officials that since June 18, at least 40 people have lost their lives due to extreme heat-related incidents.
The heat wave has caused major disruptions to the life of people in France as 800+ schools have been closed in addition to other public events and disruptions in train services. The authorities of Paris even decided to close the Eiffel Tower for safety reasons.
One such incident is when two children aged 2 and 4 years old were found unconscious in a car outside their house in Carpentras and eventually died due to heat exhaustion. Another similar incident occurred in Bordeaux where three elderly people aged 80 to 95 years old died of heat exhaustion.
It is important to note that meteorologists claim that this kind of weather conditions are only a part of a larger heat wave in Europe which includes several European nations like the UK, Spain, Italy, and Belgium among others.
The European authorities are constantly urging citizens to stay at home in such weather.
