Germany breaks temperature record for June as heatwave grips Europe

A new temperature record for the month of June was setin Germany on Wednesday, as France and Italy also sweltered in aheatwave affecting large swathes of Europe.The record was broken at 2:50 pm (1250 GMT) in the town of Coschen onthe German-Polish border, as the mercury rose to 38.6 degreesCelsius, the German Weather Service (DWD) said.Prior to Wednesday, the highest temperature ever recorded in Germanyin this month was 38.5 degrees on June 27-28, 1947, in the westerntown of Buehlertal.The Red Cross has warned that heatwaves can have catastrophicconsequences. On Tuesday it pointed to the year 2003, when anestimated 70,000 people died in Europe during a heatwave.The DWD said perceived temperatures, taking humidity and otherfactors into account, could reach 43 degrees between Karlsruhe andFreiburg as a result of little wind and cloud.Germany's all-time heat record of 40.3 degrees was recorded on July5, 2015 in Kitzingen, Bavaria. The DWD did not expect temperatures tosoar past that level, but it said it could not rule it out.In France, Emmanuel Demael from state weather service Meteo Francetold newspaper Le Parisien that the record of 44.1 degrees, setduring the deadly 2003 heatwave, could be "under threat" this year.Temperatures were expected to climax on Thursday and Friday, reachingbetween 40 and 42 degrees in much of the inland south and even higherin some areas, according to Meteo France.In the Paris suburbs of Ivry-sur-Seine and Vitry-sur-Seine and thesuburban town of Melun, authorities decided to close all schools onThursday and Friday.More school closures were announced elsewhere France. In the Essonnearea west of Paris, parents were being advised to keep primary schoolchildren at home if possible.The Education Ministry was unable to say how many schools would beclosed nationwide as the decision was up to headmasters and localauthorities.Paris police meanwhile extended to Thursday a ban on older vehiclesin the city and inner suburbs due to high levels of air pollutionaccompanying the heatwave. According to Meteo France, all-time heat records were beaten inseveral mountain locations. In Nice, the overnight temperature low of26 degrees was the hottest ever, FranceInfo reported.In Italy, the heat was also expected to get worse on Thursday.Weather website IlMeteo.it said temperatures would reach 42-43degrees in the north-western region of Piedmont.The Italian air force, which is also responsible for weatherforecasts, indicated that the mercury would rise to 43 degrees onThursday in the Piedmont province of Alessandria.The health ministry issued heatwave alerts for six cities onThursday, including the tourist hotspots of Rome and Florence. ForFriday, the alert was extended to 16 cities, including Milan, Veniceand Naples. In Spain, record highs are expected in Zaragoza in the north-east ofthe country, Logrono in the province of La Rioja and in the capitalMadrid, among others, the newspaper El Pais reported.Holidaymakers in Majorca and the other Balearic Islands were sweatingin temperatures of around 35 degrees. It was a bit cooler on theCanary Islands and in Barcelona. According to data from the Spanish state weather service Aemet, 30.3degrees was already measured on Wednesday in the municipality ofArroyo del Ojanco in Andalusia at 7 am (0500 GMT). The heatwave should peak at the weekend when in some parts of thecountry values of up to 44 degrees are expected, Aemet spokesmanFernando Garcia said.The weather was unusually warm even further north in Denmark.A weather station in Assens on the island of Funen reported aso-called tropical night - meaning the temperature did not fall under20 degrees Celsius overnight to Wednesday. It was the earliesttropical night registered in the country in 19 years, the DanishMeteorological Institute reported.