A ‘SAHARAN plume’ heatwave has swept across Europe, breaking all-time records as Paris braces for a sizzling 42C amid fears the Notre Dame could collapse completely.
The heatwave began on Tuesday, setting record highs across southwestern France and again on Wednesday in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
It’s the second heatwave to hit Western Europe in a month and is set to reach its peak on Thursday.
Bordeaux, in southwestern France, reported its highest ever temperature on Tuesday as the mercury climbed to 41.2C, Meteo France reported.
Temperatures in the French capital could hit new highs on Thursday, with some forecasters predicting 42C – shattering July records for the first time in seven decades.
The previous record, set in 1947, stands at 40.4C.
I am very worried about the heatwave … What I fear is that … all of sudden, the vault gives way
Notre Dame chief architect Philippe Villeneuve
Notre Dame chief architect Philippe Villeneuve has said he is “extremely worried” that the cathedral’s vaulted ceiling – which was damaged by fire – may collapse completely in the heat.
Mr Villeneuve told reporters on Wednesday: “I am very worried about the heatwave.
“What I fear is that the joints or the masonry, as they dry, lose their coherence, their cohesion and their structural qualities and that all of sudden, the vault gives way.”
The city has been placed a “level three alert“, which includes measures to ensure that elderly and vulnerable people are checked on regularly, and that rooms are set aside for shelter.
More than 20 other local regions, mainly in the south of the country, have also been placed on heatwave alert.
Meteo France said: “It will be very hot again in France this week, with a hot air flow coming from the Iberian Peninsula.
“Thursday will be the hottest day of the heatwave with expected maximum temperatures above 40C over a large quarter northeast of the country in particular.”
This week’s heatwave has been compared to the one which hit France in August 2003, when the severe weather contributed to 15,000 deaths.
In Belgium, the town of Kleine Brogel hit 39.9C, the hottest since 1833.
A code red has similarly been issues across the country.
And in Germany’s weather service also reported a new record of 40.5C – just 0.2C higher than previous measures – in Geilenkirchen, near the Belgian and Dutch borders.
Temperatures are expected to rise even more on Thursday.
As the sun set on Wednesday, forecasters announced at least ten stations had reported temperatures above 39C – including ones in Cologne and Bonn, and Saarbrücken, all of which lie in the west of the country near the border.
The Dutch record was broken at Gilze-Rijen airbase on Wednesday with a with a scorching 38.8C , before a higher temperature was recorded in the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven.
The new high of 39.3C beat the 75-year-old national record.
Transport across the region has also been affected with trains in Britain and France slowed in response to the extreme weather.
Thalys and Eurostar train services between Brussels, Paris and London were disrupted on Wednesday by a failure on an overhead power line.
The 600 passengers were eventually taken back to Brussels, Belga news agency said.
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News Photo ‘Saharan plume’ 42C heatwave breaks all-time records across Europe and it’s so hot in Paris that Notre Dame could collapse completely
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