Europe suffers deadly heat

Tuesday, 5 August 2003 12:00 AM

The number of people that have died due to the extreme heat affecting Europe continues to rise.

While commuters in the UK suffer from railway hold-ups because of the hot weather, many parts of the Europe are suffering fires, droughts and temperatures so high that heat itself has been blamed for a number of deaths.

Fires have ravaged large parts of southern Europe, and Portugal, which is the worst affected, has declared a national catastrophe. The move means that those losing their homes will be able to claim compensation.

Smoke from some fires has grown so think that planes and helicopters are unable to assist efforts to bring the blaze under control, and Portugal has announced that two more bodies have been found today.

Fires continue to cause problems in other parts of Europe, and although the French authorities have bought fires under control, the extent of its drought has caused most departments to appeal for relief for farmers from the federal government.

But it is Spain that has seen the hottest weather, with some cities reporting temperatures of more than 46C.

Andalucia in Spain has suffered the highest temperatures, and as many towns record historic highs three more deaths in the area have been attributed to the effects of the heat.

Some doctors report that the weather has caused a reported 10% increase in the number of heat stroke cases.

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