E-Paper
Deaths, melting tram tracks, cooking food under Sun: Battles of Europe heatwave
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday that Europe is the “fastest-warming continent on Earth”.
Europe is currently sweltering under the most intense heatwave ever recorded there, sending temperatures to records high, leading to increasing deaths and hospitalisations, which is overwhelming medical facilities.
Giving a glimpse of the extent of the heat in the continent, several videos have emerged on social media with people showing that the Sun there is so harsh that they can cook food on pans kept outside.
There are several videos of people cracking open eggs or bacon on pans kept in the Sun and cooking them within minutes.
Some photos and videos from local reports in Germany showed tram tracks melting and clogged up because of heat. This led to no trams running in Germany's Leipzig over the weekend, reported DW.
Also read: ‘Will cut off those hands’: Pakistan minister's threat to India over Indus Waters Treaty
Another compilation of videos on social media showed chocolates and other food items melting inside stores, a shopping cart kept in the Sun melting, shoes melting, bananas hung up falling off of peels, and more.
Some visuals also showed Berlin police using water cannons and residents showering in that to cool off.
Hindustan Times could not independently verify the authenticity of the visuals.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday that Europe is the “fastest-warming continent on Earth” and is heating at twice the global average. "Right now 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling,” he said.
Also read: Europe heatwave: Fact check on AC ban, sleeping with fans and climate change claims
He added that over 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded since 21 June linked to high temperatures in Europe.
“Heat stress is often called the “silent killer” – and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures,” he wrote on X.
Czech Republic, Germany and Poland, recorded temperatures of 41.9 degrees Celsius, 41.7 degrees Celsius and 40.5 degrees Celsius respectively over the weekend.
Paris funeral homes, morgues overwhelmed
French health officials said on Sunday that since Wednesday last week, there had been some 1,000 more deaths than usual at this time of the year otherwise.
National Funeral Federation's Elisabeth Charrier said that funeral home occupancy has increased to over 60 per cent nationwide while it typically ranges between 30 percent to 45 per cent during the summer, reported news agency AFP.
"The main difficulty is in central Paris, where the only two funeral homes have been at full capacity since last Friday," Charrier said.
"People have to go outside Paris -- into the inner or outer suburbs, or even further -- to find space and be able to pay their respects," she added before warning of an impending “domino effect”.
"What may complicate matters is the extension of waiting times for cremation slots or burial space in cemeteries. Cemetery staff cannot dig graves much faster, and cremation slots fill up very quickly," she said.
Ukraine forced to order power cuts
Ukraine, which is already suffering due to damaged infrastructure because of ongoing war with Russia, was in for another shock on Monday as the heat took a toll of the power systems of the country.
In Ukraine's western Rivne region, emergency power outages were ordered to ease pressure on the power grid as temperatures soared.
Households and business and five regions of Ukraine were warned on Monday that there could be blackouts on Tuesday.
"The heat is also a serious test for equipment that has been operating under wartime conditions for more than four years and has withstood numerous attacks," AFP quoted Sergii Kovalenko, CEO of the Yasno energy company as saying.
(With inputs from AFP)
