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THE EUROPEAN HEATWAVE that has already scorched the western and southern parts of the continent began spreading eastwards today, bringing extreme weather warnings to Germany and causing motorways to buckle.
There is some level of reprieve in sight though. Colder weather is due to arrive from the Atlantic and spread across the continent tomorrow, but it also brings with it the chance of thunderstorms.
Today, Germany’s national weather service (DWD) warned of “exceptionally high” temperatures reaching close to 40 degrees in places.
The heat has caused disruptions to transport, with Germany’s national rail operator Deutsche Bahn warning of impaired services in the west of the country, where temperatures are highest.
In the north-west, close to the city of Bremen, the heat caused the surface of the motorway to buckle in places, creating a danger for drivers, local media reported.
The acute high temperatures have added to an extended period of unusually hot and dry weather through the first half of the year.
As well as an increased risk of forest fires, Germany’s rivers are also running low, causing problems for navigating the country’s waterways.
In the eastern city of Dresden, the level of the Elbe river has sunk to just 64 centimetres, compared with an average of around two metres.
Holger Boehme, the owner of a floating theatre said it was “strange” to see the usually wide river shrink to a fraction of its usual size.
“There has always been high water and low water, but this type of extreme high water and extreme low is truly new in recent years,” Boehme told AFP.
The current levels of Germany’s rivers are typically more likely to be seen at the end of the summer, Matthias Roeser from the Federal Association of German Inland Navigation said.
In Berlin, 18-year-old Nora said her strawberry stand on the side of the road felt “like a sauna” before temperatures had even reached their peak.
Her boss had told her to close the stall if she felt unwell, as the German capital sweated under a hot sun, she told the AFP news agency.
In France, temperatures cooled slightly overnight and into this morning but remain high.
Paris was expected to experience highs of around 35C after hitting 40C yesterday, according to weather service Meteo-France.
French Health Minister Catherine Vautrin confirmed it was “too early to take stock” of the consequences of the heatwave.
But for the Paris metro area there has been a “serious” increase in emergency services’ activity of around 15%.
An official estimate of the excess mortality linked to the heatwave would take two weeks for French authorities to compile, the ministry indicated.
Residents in Spain and Italy may have to wait until the weekend before they experience a drop in temperatures.
In Madrid, care worker Grace Guerrero, 65, told AFP she could really “feel the heat” but the air was cooler at her home outside the Spanish capital.
A 75-year-old man died in the southern city of Cordoba today, bringing the total number of heat related deaths over the last 10 days in Spain to at least four.
Barcelona adopted plans to extend protections for sanitation workers in heatwaves, including more water breaks, after a woman died on Saturday after her shift.
In Italy, at Rome’s ancient forum, archaeological excavation work stopped early at around 12:30 pm today as temperatures reached 35 degrees.
Elena Civitelli, an archaeologist with two decades of experience, told AFP she could not remember “suffering so much in the early hours of the morning” as she had in recent days.
Belgium has continued to experience high temperatures, particularly in Brussels, but coastal areas are already experiencing lower temperatures, and cool winds blowing in from the Atlantic are expected to see highs in France drop to near 28 degrees tomorrow.
The colder front would, however, bring with it the possibility of heavy thunderstorms, according to Meteo-France.
The German weather service also warned of storms in eastern Germany and has already issued weather warnings for severe winds and rain in isolated areas in the western part of the country, with temperatures expected to drop to around 30 degrees or below over the next two days.
Unsure of what exactly is happening with the earth’s climate? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online.
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