France records over 5,700 excess deaths in June heatwave: Authorities

PARIS, July 22: France recorded 5,764 more deaths than usual during a record-breaking heatwave last month, health authorities said on Wednesday, describing the excess mortality among people aged 15 and older as "unprecedented."

Those who lost their lives between June 17 and July 2 died of "all causes" -- none yet clearly linked to the heat, they said. In comparison, the country reported 5,722 excess deaths linked to heat over the whole summer last year.

Firefighters battled wildfires in Spain and France on Wednesday, with the risk of more blazes very high across much of Spain even as a major fire raging in its central Guadalajara province receded, allowing some residents to return home.

In France, where two firefighters died on Tuesday as their truck was engulfed in flames in the southwest region of Gironde, authorities urged people to avoid using barbecues in areas hit by heatwaves, stressing that nine out of 10 wildfires start, accidentally or not, as a result of human activity.

Meanwhile, in the Western Balkans, the danger has shifted from heatwaves to hailstorms, with several people injured in North Macedonia and eastern Kosovo.

Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent and scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the intensity of heatwaves, droughts and wildfires, while also creating conditions for sudden, destructive storms.

The continent has endured three stifling, virtually back-to-back heatwaves so far this year. Intense heat has also been blamed for thousands of excess deaths in the May to June period.

The Reuters Climate Monitor, an interactive tool providing real-time data, showed the average high temperature across Western Europe is forecast to be 26.6 degrees Celsius (79.8 degrees Fahrenheit), which is 3 degrees above the normal high for July 22 in the period from 1961 to 1990.

Spain's worst wildfire so far this year has burned an estimated 32,000 hectares (79,000 acres) in the Guadalajara region. It started to stabilise on Tuesday after forcing evacuations in 34 municipalities and confinement orders in 14 others.-AGENCIES