This Tuesday, July 19, much of Western Europe is still feeling the effects of the scorching heat that has lasted for seven days, to places usually spared, such as Brittany as well as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Down.
1400 hectares burned in Finistère
In Brittany, temperature records were recorded on Monday July 18. It was 39.3°C in Brest (a first) and 42°C in Nantes. Very high temperatures which contributed to the start of fires in the department of Finistère, which is usually not conducive to this type of climatic event. On Monday alone, eight fires broke out, including a major one in the north of the department. In the Monts d’Arrée, nearly 1,400 hectares of vegetation went up in smoke and 500 people were evacuated, the prefecture said on Tuesday morning. Another significant outbreak of fire also took place between Saint-Brieuc and Rennes. It caused delays on the TER in the region on Monday, according to the Twitter account TER BreizhGo.
Monday was “exceptional” for the firefighters of Finistère, explained Sylvain Montgénie, director of the SDIS of Finistère, with our colleagues from France info. “We had more than 320 departures for interventions, 221 personal rescue, 53 fires and 46 various operations. Of the 53 fires, there were 32 vegetation fires”, he detailed.
This Tuesday, temperatures returned to normal in Finistère and the red heat wave alert triggered by Météo France turned into orange vigilance in the face of thunderstorms.
40°C in the UK for the first time
Little by little, the suffocating heat present in France since then is moving north. In the UK, the MEt Office, Britain’s national meteorological service, has issued the first-ever ‘red alert’ for extreme heat, warning of a ‘risk to life’. After having experienced the hottest day of the year on Monday, the British also spent the hottest night ever recorded in the country with temperatures which in places did not drop below 25°C.
This Tuesday, the mercury again broke records, with 40.2 ° C at midday in London, announced the meteorological agency. According to its forecasts, temperatures could reach 40°C also in the south of the country on Tuesday, while the previous record dating from 2019 was 38.7°C.
Unaccustomed to heat exceeding 30°C, the country is on high alert. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has advised Londoners to only use public transport on these days when it is “absolutely necessary”. Rail companies have also urged passengers to avoid travel. And some schools in the south of England have announced that they will remain closed during heatwave days.
In Belgium, the hottest day ever recorded
Belgium is also suffering the effects of the heat wave. On his Twitter account, meteorologist David Dehenauw indicated that the municipality of Uccle had just broken a temperature record, with 36.4°C, against 36.2 in 2006. This July 19 is also the third coldest day hot never recorded in Belgium since 1892, according to the meteorologist.
Due to the high heat and the drought, several fires broke out on Belgian territory, particularly in Picardy Wallonia. And as in the United Kingdom and sometimes even in France, where the infrastructures are not adapted to high temperatures, many trains were canceled on Tuesday.
Further east, the Netherlands recorded its hottest day of the year on Monday with 35.4°C. Since Monday, the Royal Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has activated the heat plan nationwide.