PARISIANS have been sleeping outside to take advantage of cool night air as the heatwave that has baked France shifts across Europe.
People are turning to city parks to get a good night’s sleep rather than sweltering in overheated apartments amid high temperatures.
Dozens were spotted arriving at Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, in the northeast of the capital, with blankets, hammocks and inflatable mattresses.
France endured its hottest day on record on Wednesday, smashing another record set just the previous day.
Some departments in the west of the country saw highs of over 44C as more than half of the country’s 96 departments were placed on red alert.
The historic heatwave has forced tourist attractions to close and drownings have multiplied as people try to cool off in canals and rivers.
Temperatures have now started to ease as the peak of the heatwave moves on from some regions.
But hospitals remain under intense pressure in the face of severe heat-related emergencies.
The AP-HP authority said its emergency departments treated nearly 3,000 patients on Friday – over a third more than normal.
Temperatures this week have been higher than those during a historic 2003 heat wave that was blamed for 15,000 deaths.
But the AP-HP’s director, Nicolas Revel, said he doesn’t expect as many fatalities this time.
As the heatwave shifts across Europe, temperatures in Germany are expected to hit 41C.
German police have deployed water cannons to cool people down.
Cops are patrolling the streets of Berlin with the riot control gear, misting locals and tourists alike.
The country’s transport infrastructure is being severely affected by the heat this weekend, train operator Deutsche Bahn said.
Two sections of a major road outside Berlin have already burst due to soaring temperatures.
Rail companies have advised against all non-essential travel on long-distance and regional trains across the weekend.
In the western city of Dormagen, dozens of residents of a nursing home were evacuated for medical care due to dangerous heat conditions in the building.
The local fire department reported that temperatures inside the home had reached 35C.
A resident at the home died overnight, but it was not yet clear whether the heat was the cause.
In Italy 18 cities remain on red alert today including popular tourist hotspots Venice, Florence, Bologna and Milan.
Tourists are still trying to cool off in the capital, Rome, seeking shade near buildings and dunking their heads under public fountains.
In the UK conditions are expected to ease across the weekend as the red heat warning drops to amber.
Friday was confirmed as the country’s hottest June day on record, with a provisional temperature of 37C.
It was more than 1C hotter than the long-standing record for June heat set in the summer of 1976.
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