Major power outage in France as Europe wilts under record heat
PARIS – Yesterday, Europe prepared for yet another day of intense heat that has broken records, caused power outages for tens of thousands, and led to a surge in air conditioner sales across a continent unaccustomed to and ill-equipped to handle such scorching temperatures. The extreme weather is being driven by atmospheric patterns that keep... The post Major power outage in France as Europe wilts under record heat appeared first on New Era .
PARIS – Yesterday, Europe prepared for yet another day of intense heat that has broken records, caused power outages for tens of thousands, and led to a surge in air conditioner sales across a continent unaccustomed to and ill-equipped to handle such scorching temperatures.
The extreme weather is being driven by atmospheric patterns that keep hot air trapped in place for days, and these factors are worsened by global warming, experts say. France’s national temperature indicator, an average of daytime and nighttime temperatures across 30 stations, reached 29.8 °C on Tuesday, the hottest since measurements began in 1947.
With four more French departments being put under the highest heat alert category yesterday, around 44 million people are affected, according to AFP calculations.
More than 90% of the French population faces extreme heat, with 39°C to 41°C expected from Brittany to Paris and the southwest. With 31 departments on orange alert due to the heatwave, the first major power outage left 68 000 households without power after a transformer incident in Finistere.
While teams worked through the night to fix the issue, which occurred late Tuesday, power is not expected to be fully restored until the end of Yesterday at the earliest.
