Europe's Record Heatwave Hits Eastern Regions, Ukraine Prepares for Strain on Power Grid
The most severe heatwave ever recorded in Europe affected central and eastern parts of the continent on Monday, and began to move over Ukraine, which scrambled to prepare its war-ravaged power grid for the extreme temperatures.
The heatwave first smothered western Europe last week, sending temperatures to record highs and straining hospitals, transport networks and power grids on a continent where infrastructure was not built to withstand such heat and where air conditioning is not widespread.
More than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded in Europe since June 21, according to the UN health agency. These include several small children who died in locked cars and youths who drowned while seeking relief in unsupervised swimming spots.
France reported at least 74 drowning deaths since June 18, and Poland said 17 people drowned on Sunday alone.
On Monday, the Balkans braced for temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius, with firefighters in Bosnia battling blazes sparked by the heat. At least 130 million people in Europe were expected to experience temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius, down from 190 million on Sunday, according to an AFP analysis.
The World Weather Attribution group of scientists stated that this heatwave is the most severe ever recorded in Europe and would have been 'virtually impossible' this early in the summer without climate change. All-time temperature records have been broken in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as for the month of June in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
Ukraine on Monday was preparing for the heatwave's impact on its energy network, which has already been damaged by Russian attacks over more than four years of war. Grid operators in at least five regions, from Ivano-Frankivsk in the west to Zaporizhzhia on the front line in the south, announced temporary restrictions on energy usage during parts of Tuesday.
The state weather service said the country would face 'intense heat,' with temperatures of 35-38 degrees Celsius expected on Monday. Sergii Kovalenko, CEO of the Yasno energy company, said over the weekend that the heat is also a serious test for equipment that has been operating under wartime conditions for four years and has withstood numerous attacks. He noted that summer is the peak period for repairing the energy network, which had been battered through the winter by repeated Russian attacks, meaning the grid was already 'operating at the limit of its capabilities.'
Over the weekend, the heat scorched the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland, with the countries setting new temperature records of 41.9 degrees Celsius, 41.7 degrees Celsius and 40.5 degrees Celsius, respectively. In Berlin, police used water cannons to help residents cool off at the Olympia venue where singer Bruno Mars was performing.
With temperatures cooling in France, the national weather service said on Sunday evening it was already anticipating the possibility of another heatwave in July.
