Tag: heatwave

Australia heatwave renews bushfire worries

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia was bracing for a heatwave to sweep across the country’s fire-ravaged southeast in the coming days, with the forecast stoking fears the soaring temperatures could inflame bushfires. Temperatures reached above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday in South Australia state, where dangerous fire weather warnings were issued in several bushfire-prone areas. The heatwave is then expected to hit Melbourne and Canberra on Friday before parts of Sydney reach […]

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Australia firefighters race to contain blazes as heatwave looms

  by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse Firefighters raced to contain massive bushfires in southeastern Australia Tuesday, taking advantage of a brief drop in temperatures and some much-needed rainfall before another heatwave strikes later this week. Exhausted volunteers cleared ground vegetation and carried out controlled burns before temperatures and winds were expected to pick up again by Friday. “It really is about shoring up protection to limit the damage potential and the outbreak of the […]

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Australia braces for heatwave as more than 100 fires burn

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Out of control bushfires forced residents in eastern Australia to flee their homes on Saturday, as other parts of the country braced for a heatwave due next week. Bushfires are common in the country but scientists say this year’s season has come earlier and with more intensity due to a prolonged drought and climatic conditions fuelled by global warming. Scorching temperatures have tipped above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) close […]

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Record 42.6C in Paris as Europe heatwave hits blistering peak

by Stuart WILLIAMS PARIS, France (AFP) — Paris on Thursday baked in an all-time high temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 Fahrenheit) as a ferocious heatwave smashed records across northern Europe, sparking concerns about public health and causing new misery for rail travelers. As records also tumbled in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, Paris beat the previous top of 40.4C set in July 1947. Trains have been slowed in several European countries to avoid damage […]

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Records tumble in Europe as heatwave bites

by Adam PLOWRIGHT PARIS, France (AFP) — Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands recorded their highest ever temperatures as a European heatwave soared towards its peak on Wednesday, impacting rail transport and prompting a number of drownings with people taking to the water. Cyclists in the Tour de France in southern France had to puff their way over the course in well over 30 degrees Celsius while in the Netherlands, farmers have been leaving their cows […]

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Trains slowed down as temperatures in Europe hit new record high

  by Adam PLOWRIGHT Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Trains were slowed down and holidaymakers flocked to swimming pools, beaches and lakes in western Europe on Wednesday as another heatwave set new temperature records. A host of French cities saw their highest levels since records began on Tuesday, with wine capital Bordeaux recording 41.2 degrees Celsius (106.16 Fahrenheit), beating the previous high of 40.7C registered in August 2003, weather service Meteo-France said. Forecasters […]

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End in sight for US heat wave that set temperature records

by Brian KNOWLTON WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States sweltered in dangerously hot weather on Sunday, with major cities including New York, Philadelphia and Washington broiling in temperatures that rose into triple digits. An oppressive heat wave stretching from the Midwestern plains to the Atlantic coast had nearly 150 million people struggling to stay cool in stifling heat that set records in a handful of states. By Sunday afternoon, the National Weather Service […]

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Mercury tops 45C in France as deadly heatwave roasts Europe

by Julie Pacorel with Clare Byrne and Stuart Williams in Paris Agence France Presse CARPENTRAS, France (AFP) — Temperatures in France surpassed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) Friday for the first time on record as Europe sweltered in an early summer heatwave that has caused several deaths. With France, Spain, Italy and parts of central Europe hard hit by the record-breaking temperatures, officials pleaded with people to take precautions. France’s new record temperature of […]

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Spanish teenager collapses, dies from heat

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — A 17-year-old harvest worker has died from heat stroke in Spain, local authorities said, in the first known death related to the record heatwave currently raging in Spain and large parts of Europe. The youth suddenly felt dizzy and took a dip in a swimming pool but suffered convulsions when he got out and collapsed, the regional government of Andalusia in southern Spain said. He was rushed to the emergency ward […]

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Europeans on alert as heatwave intensifies; temperatures heading into 40 degrees Celsius

  by Ryland JAMES Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Authorities raised alerts Wednesday as Europe’s record-breaking June heatwave threatened to intensify with temperatures heading into the 40s Celsius. The choking heat has prompted traffic restrictions, sparked forest fires and fanned debate over public nudity as sweltering Germans stripped off. But French winemakers said the hot weather was more than welcome as it could produce a superior vintage. Meteorologists blamed a blast of hot […]

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Spain battles wildfire amid European heatwave

BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers battled a wind-fuelled forest fire in Spain on Wednesday amid a Europe-wide heatwave that has sent temperatures soaring to record highs in several countries. Fifteen water-dropping aircraft were helping firefighters to put out the blaze, which broke out at around 2:30 pm (1230 GMT) in the municipality of Torre del Espanol in Tarragona province in the northeastern region of Catalonia, local firefighters said. The blaze, which […]

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India heatwave takes temperatures near record highs

CHURU, India (AFP) — Temperatures in an Indian desert city hit 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) for the second time in three days as a deadly heatwave maintained its grip on the country. The thermometer hit 50.3 (122.54 Fahrenheit) in Churu in Rajasthan state, sending residents scrambling for shade to escape the searing sun. On Saturday it reached 50.6 Celsius (123 Fahrenheit), close to the country’s record of 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 Fahrenheit) recorded in […]

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