A punishing heat-wave with record temperatures is to peak later Thursday in France and other European countries like Belgium, western Germany and Holland, French weather services said. In a situation bulletin, national weather service “Meteo France” warned that at least 20 northern districts of France were placed on “Red Alert,” the highest level, with the bulk of Franceآ‘s other 95 districts put on second-highest “Orange Alert.”

The bulletin indicated that temperatures in Paris would rise to 42 degrees Celsius, while around 10 other major cities would record 40- degree temperatures, many beating all-time records. In addition, Wednesday night was registered as the hottest night ever since records have been kept. Health officials have called for “extreme prudence” in areas above 40 degrees, and holiday traffic has been disrupted as trains have been forced to slow down.

National rail carrier SNCF has urged travellers to cancel or postpone departures Thursday and in the coming days and has said it will fully reimburse cancelled tickets. Road traffic in major urban areas has also been affected as speed limits have been reduced by around 20 km/h.

Paris authorities, as well as officials in other cities, have warned that the high temperatures have been accompanied by a spike in pollution, making conditions very difficult for older people, young children, and people with respiratory or related problems. The French fire brigade service called on the population on Thursday for more civic spirit in helping people affected by the heat-wave as the fire and ambulance services are overwhelmed by emergency calls and unable to tackle all situations.


Read Today's News TODAY... on our Telegram Channel click here to join and receive all the latest updates t.me/thetimeskuwait