France shuts schools as heatwave grips Europe

1/7/2025 19:26

More than a thousand

schools were closed in France on Tuesday and the top floor of

the Eiffel Tower was shut to tourists as a severe heatwave

continued to grip Europe, triggering health alerts across the

region.



The Mediterranean Sea was up to 6 degrees Celsius warmer

than usual for the time of year, hitting a record of as much as

30 C (86 F) in Spain's Balearic Sea as a heat dome trapped hot

air above Europe, the country's Aemet weather forecaster said.



Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, heating up

at twice the global average, according to the EU's Copernicus

Climate Change Service, making extreme heatwaves occur earlier

in the year, and persist into later months.