欧州で異例の早い熱波、記録更新と水難事故相次ぐ

According to an AP report dated May 26, an out-of-season heat wave continued across Western Europe, and temperature records were broken in Britain and France.

Britain's weather authorities said Kew Gardens in London recorded 35.1 degrees Celsius, topping even the record set a day earlier. It was reported to be the highest level for May in more than a century.

France was also said to have reached 36 degrees Celsius in the southwest, and areas where nighttime temperatures did not fall below 20 degrees spread wider. The intense heat also extended to Spain and Italy.

France's weather agency said a "heat dome," in which high pressure traps heat, was producing temperatures more than 10 degrees Celsius above normal for this time of year.

In Britain, health authorities issued an amber warning for wide areas and urged particular caution for older people. A background factor is that many homes and schools do not have air conditioning.

The report said people gathered at lakes and the sea to escape the heat, and multiple drowning accidents were reported in Britain and France.

In Britain, four teenagers died at lakes and reservoirs, and the death of a 60-year-old man at sea in the southwest was also reported.

France's government spokesperson said there were at least seven deaths that could be related to high temperatures. The reported breakdown included drowning accidents and deaths during sports events.

Experts say heat waves like this have become more likely and more severe because of climate change driven by greenhouse gases.

That such intense heat arrived while it is still only May is seen as a sign that preparations for future extremes need to be accelerated.