France has recorded at least 40 drowning deaths over the past five days as the country battles a severe heatwave, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said at an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday, according to The New York Times.
Lecornu said most of the victims were young people, including many teenagers, who had been swimming in unsupervised areas, and he described the deaths as a "tragic scourge."
Marina Ferrari, a minister whose portfolio includes youth affairs, reportedly told French radio on Tuesday that most of the drownings occurred in bodies of water such as lakes and canals. "During heat waves like this," she said, "it's no small matter to go swimming in areas that aren't supervised."
The extreme weather has gripped much of Europe since the middle of last week, with forecasters warning that Paris could reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) this week, close to its all-time record. Central France could see highs of up to 43 degrees Celsius (around 109 degrees Fahrenheit), as per the NYT report.
More than half of France remains under a red alert, the highest heatwave warning level, with the national weather agency, Météo-France, forecasting "exceptionally high temperatures, both day and night," and cautioning of a potential "strong health impact."
Lecornu noted that temperature records were falling on a near-daily basis. "All the records, locally or nationally, are being broken every day or night when it comes to temperatures," he said.
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Météo-France also said the country recorded its hottest night since record-keeping began in 1947, with an average reading of 21.6 degrees Celsius (about 71 degrees Fahrenheit) across 30 stations between Monday and Tuesday, based on preliminary data.
The newspaper reported that the prevailing weather pattern is being driven by a "heat dome" — a high-pressure system that traps heat over a region and can block incoming weather fronts, leading to clear skies and minimal rainfall, per Météo-France.
This marks France's second major heatwave in roughly a month, following record temperatures in May.
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The heat has caused other fatalities as well. French broadcaster BFMTV reported that two children, aged 2 and 4, died Monday after being left inside a car.
In Paris, residents sought relief by swimming in the Canal Saint-Martin. Martina Russo, 28, said she was less concerned about drowning risk than water quality, telling the NYT, "It would be nice to have someone say, 'We've tested it, and there are no health risks.'"
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