BERLIN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Europe faced a widening heatwave on Friday as record or near-record temperatures scorched parts of the continent, prompting health and weather authorities to expand alerts while emergency rooms, transport networks and firefighting services came under growing strain.
In Britain, the heatwave reached a new peak on Friday as a provisional temperature of 37.3 degrees Celsius was recorded in Santon Downham, Suffolk, making it the hottest June day on record, the BBC reported.
The figure surpassed the previous provisional June record of 36.7 degrees Celsius, which was set just one day earlier in Merryfield, Somerset.
The heat has disrupted daily life and public services. In London, officials warned that pavement temperatures in parts of the capital reached as high as 57 degrees Celsius. The London Ambulance Service said emergency 999 calls have surged by 50 percent during the heatwave, according to the BBC. Sheffield's tram network was suspended on Friday due to the extreme temperatures.
Germany also reported a possible all-time national temperature record on Friday. According to German news agency dpa, citing preliminary data from the German Weather Service, 41.3 degrees Celsius was measured in Saarbruecken-Burbach, in the southwestern state of Saarland. The country's previous record stood at 41.2 degrees Celsius, measured on July 25, 2019, in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
"Due to the persistent high temperatures, the number of heatstroke patients treated in our emergency department has increased significantly," with symptoms including temporary loss of consciousness, dizziness, heatstroke and dehydration, said Sabine Blaschke, medical director of the emergency department at the University Medical Center Goettingen.
In Bremen, the heat has also led to an increase in emergency-room visits. "Many of the patients are elderly people who have not drunk enough water or are complaining of dizziness," said Karen Matiszick, spokesperson for Gesundheit Nord, Bremen's public hospital group.
Road infrastructure also came under strain. On Germany's A2 motorway, prolonged heat caused older concrete sections to expand, buckle and break apart, forcing the full closure of two stretches from Thursday. According to the motorway operator, both affected stretches are expected to remain closed until Sunday afternoon, with damaged concrete slabs to be replaced with asphalt.
Italy remained in the grip of an intense heatwave on Friday as well, as the Health Ministry placed 18 cities under a "red alert," the highest heat warning level.
The affected cities include Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence, Bologna, Venice and Verona, while daytime highs in parts of central and northern Italy are forecast to approach 38-40 degrees Celsius.
The prolonged heat has strained public services. Italian media reported that emergency departments in some northern regions have seen a sharp increase in patients suffering from dehydration, heat exhaustion and cardiovascular complications, particularly among elderly residents.
Authorities have also warned of an elevated wildfire risk, especially in Sardinia and southern Italy, where civil protection agencies have issued alerts as vegetation has dried out after weeks of unusually hot and dry weather.
The Balkans have also been hit by severe heat and related hazards. Serbia is facing an intense and prolonged heatwave starting Friday, with maximum temperatures forecasted to reach up to 39 degrees Celsius through early next week.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), heat warnings were issued for large parts of the country on Friday as temperatures were forecast to reach up to 38 degrees Celsius, according to the Federal Hydrometeorological Institute.
The hot and dry weather has complicated firefighting efforts. In the southern city of Mostar, firefighters continued working to secure a major landfill where a fire has been burning since Monday. The blaze, which spread to a nearby tire dump and damaged related facilities, has significantly affected air quality, prompting residents to follow official health and safety recommendations.
Elsewhere in the country, a wildfire reignited in Blidinje Nature Park in western BiH, burning more than 1,300 square meters of pine forest in rugged terrain. In southern BiH, firefighters brought under control a wildfire sparked by lightning near Trebinje, while authorities warned residents to stay away from the area because of landmines left over from the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.
Farther north, Latvia on Friday issued an orange-level heat warning across the country for the next few days, as temperatures are expected to reach 31 to 35 degrees Celsius on Sunday and Monday, according to the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center.
