By Dominique Vidalon and Sam Tabahriti
PARIS/LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) - Britain hit a record high temperature for June on Thursday as large parts of Western Europe remained in the grip of a deadly early summer heatwave that has killed dozens of people, disrupted power supplies, and shut schools and cultural landmarks.
French and British authorities warned busy people to adapt their daily routines to avoid the risk of over-heating. France activated its highest level of health service mobilisation, meaning non-urgent operations could be cancelled to focus on caring for those affected by the hot weather.
Paris endured another sweltering day after temperatures in the French capital hit a June record of 40.9 degrees Celsius (105.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.
Temperatures reached 36.4 C in southwest England on Thursday, provisionally making it the hottest June day recorded in Britain, surpassing a record set just a day earlier, the Met Office said on X.
Britain's Met Office extended a red heat alert covering a large area into Friday, the first time such warnings have been issued for three days in a row. A similar warning was issued for the Netherlands for Friday.
“Significant disruption to daily life is likely and the public should take every effort to adapt their daily routines to cope with these levels of heat, which up to now have been extremely rare for the UK," said Andy Page, a chief meteorologist at the Met Office.
DROWNING DEATHS IN FRANCE AND GERMANY
France implemented a number of measures against heatwaves after one in 2003 caused nearly 15,000 excess deaths, with the elderly the hardest hit.
This time around, active younger people were a big concern, said Emmanuel Gregoire, the mayor of Paris.
"Rather, it’s people aged between 50 and 70 who are generally in good health, but who think this is just a normal period and continue going about their usual activities as if nothing has changed. Really, protect yourselves," he told broadcaster TF1.
At least 48 people have died in France from drowning since the start of the heatwave while trying to cool off, authorities said, and three young children are known to have been killed by heat in cars in two separate incidents.
Since the end of last week, more than 20 people across Germany have lost their lives in swimming-related accidents, the German Life Saving Association said in a statement to Reuters.
In Italy, media reported that five people had died on Wednesday from heat-related incidents.
The heatwave, expected to peak over the next three days, could endanger the health of up to 1.5 million Italian workers including builders, farmers and couriers, according to estimates by the Italian CGIL trade union and Greenpeace Italy.
Several regions have banned outdoor work during the hottest times of the day, and the government this week said firms forced to pause work due to the heat could access funds for furloughed staff.
AIR CONDITIONING IN DEMAND
Changes introduced in France since the 2003 heatwave included checking in on the elderly regularly and offering those in a retirement home the chance to spend several hours a day in a room with air conditioning.
Air conditioning remains relatively rare in Europe, but Asian makers of air conditioners, such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics, China's Midea and Japan's Mitsubishi Electric, are enjoying a boom in sales, with strong demand from countries such as France, Spain and Italy.
The heatwave is being driven by a weather pattern known as an Omega block, pushing temperatures as much as 18 C above normal, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.
The phenomenon resembles the shape of the Greek letter Omega, with a bulbous middle trapping in heat over regions for extended periods, with cooler weather on its fringes. Heatwaves and storms are being intensified by climate change.
"Europe’s savage heatwave has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it – it’s the latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet," said U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell.
"Schools closing, the vulnerable dying, economies sweating: this is what the climate crisis looks like in practice, and it's just getting started," he added.
SCHOOL CHILDREN, TEACHERS SUFFER IN THE HEAT
French Education Minister Edouard Geffray said that 13,500 schools were closed or placed on special schedules on Thursday.
More than 1,000 schools closed or were partially closed in Britain as the temperature in some classrooms climbed to over 40 C, and authorities worry about extreme heat on treeless playgrounds, with the end of term still a few weeks away for many.
U.S. tourist Keaghan Cronin, playing with her children in sprinklers in Paris, said that was a nice spot, but it was just too hot.
"They're (children) very uncomfortable. We are actually going to leave a little early, because it's too hot, we're going to leave Paris early," she said.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Makini Brice and Ingrid Melander in Paris, Sarah Young and Sam Tabahriti in London, Charlotte van Campenhout and Bart Meijer in Amsterdam, Francois Murphy in Vienna, Alvise Armellini, Giselda Vagnoni and Matthias Williams; Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Alison Williams)
