Berliner Boersenzeitung - Central Europe swelters as heatwave moves east

EUR -
AED 4.325935
AFN 82.295246
ALL 97.926243
AMD 452.928874
ANG 2.108041
AOA 1080.157743
ARS 1450.537772
AUD 1.798908
AWG 2.12321
AZN 2.007149
BAM 1.955925
BBD 2.378252
BDT 144.489211
BGN 1.955925
BHD 0.443228
BIF 3509.023701
BMD 1.177925
BND 1.500096
BOB 8.139519
BRL 6.38271
BSD 1.177875
BTN 100.523408
BWP 15.600995
BYN 3.854646
BYR 23087.331819
BZD 2.365951
CAD 1.603098
CDF 3398.314319
CHF 0.935405
CLF 0.028538
CLP 1095.129815
CNY 8.440309
CNH 8.439249
COP 4689.39895
CRC 594.837921
CUC 1.177925
CUP 31.215015
CVE 110.27203
CZK 24.646321
DJF 209.743371
DKK 7.461454
DOP 70.494494
DZD 152.109697
EGP 58.022699
ERN 17.668876
ETB 163.469121
FJD 2.637615
FKP 0.863276
GBP 0.862601
GEL 3.204416
GGP 0.863276
GHS 12.190777
GIP 0.863276
GMD 84.22618
GNF 10215.651249
GTQ 9.056577
GYD 246.42571
HKD 9.24601
HNL 30.773962
HRK 7.536412
HTG 154.649859
HUF 399.203326
IDR 19062.0084
ILS 3.944853
IMP 0.863276
INR 100.708477
IQD 1542.998366
IRR 49620.09495
ISK 142.446936
JEP 0.863276
JMD 188.001985
JOD 0.835195
JPY 170.179596
KES 152.179701
KGS 103.010002
KHR 4732.301685
KMF 492.373101
KPW 1060.088497
KRW 1604.946949
KWD 0.359609
KYD 0.981663
KZT 611.718997
LAK 25381.61808
LBP 105536.527962
LKR 353.392529
LRD 236.165056
LSL 20.719221
LTL 3.478107
LVL 0.712516
LYD 6.344404
MAD 10.572174
MDL 19.841265
MGA 5300.337897
MKD 61.533923
MMK 2472.967489
MNT 4223.442545
MOP 9.523607
MRU 46.74898
MUR 52.948179
MVR 18.14445
MWK 2042.530211
MXN 21.945864
MYR 4.972067
MZN 75.340533
NAD 20.719221
NGN 1802.15516
NIO 43.342763
NOK 11.881146
NPR 160.837253
NZD 1.940089
OMR 0.452069
PAB 1.177875
PEN 4.176666
PGK 4.86531
PHP 66.570482
PKR 334.365716
PLN 4.243888
PYG 9386.598396
QAR 4.304974
RON 5.059075
RSD 117.187471
RUB 92.85592
RWF 1693.207942
SAR 4.416905
SBD 9.820272
SCR 16.592058
SDG 707.348348
SEK 11.264384
SGD 1.500092
SHP 0.925664
SLE 26.444855
SLL 24700.50455
SOS 673.142913
SRD 44.036774
STD 24380.6712
SVC 10.306657
SYP 15315.211479
SZL 20.70332
THB 38.118091
TJS 11.45473
TMT 4.134517
TND 3.431819
TOP 2.758823
TRY 46.91719
TTD 7.988509
TWD 34.086841
TZS 3109.79825
UAH 49.123132
UGX 4225.269361
USD 1.177925
UYU 47.273014
UZS 14790.942924
VES 128.951587
VND 30838.07893
VUV 140.323223
WST 3.056689
XAF 655.99882
XAG 0.031783
XAU 0.000353
XCD 3.183402
XDR 0.815852
XOF 655.99882
XPF 119.331742
YER 285.234989
ZAR 20.734144
ZMK 10602.74357
ZMW 28.533819
ZWL 379.291399
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Central Europe swelters as heatwave moves east
Central Europe swelters as heatwave moves east / Photo: Tobias SCHWARZ - AFP

Central Europe swelters as heatwave moves east

A punishing heatwave loosened its gripped on western Europe Wednesday and rolled eastwards, with Germany expected to record some of its hottest temperatures of the year so far.

Text size:

Germany's national weather service (DWD) issued blanket weather warnings for heat and extreme heat covering the entire country.

The agency said it expected "maximum temperatures with exceptionally high peaks of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Farenheit)" in the course of the day.

The unsually hot weather was causing disruptions to transport, with the national rail operator Deutsche Bahn saying it expected services to be affected in the west of the country where temperatures were rising most.

In the north of the country, the heat had caused the surface of the motorway to buckle in places, creating a danger for drivers, local media reported.

In Berlin, 18-year-old Nora said her job at a kiosk selling strawberries was "a bit like a sauna", with the temperature already at 26C at 8:30 am.

"I've never sold strawberries in this sort of heat," she said, adding that her employer had told her to shut the kiosk if she felt unwell.

Further south in Frankfurt teacher Horst Hirsch said he expected "to work and to sweat" in a day full of lessons and meetings and planned to "not do any exercise and drink lots of water".

In France, the temperature gauge hit 40C in Paris on Tuesday, according to weather service Meteo-France, with a lower high of 35C expected Wednesday.

Relief will reach the French capital in earnest on Thursday, when the high will drop to 28C as cooler winds blow in from the Atlantic, bringing with them the potential for thunderstorms.

- 'Really unbearable' -

Meanwhile, residents in Spain and Italy may have to wait until the weekend before they experience a drop in temperatures.

Care worker Grace Guerrero, 65, told AFP she could really "feel the heat" in Madrid but the air was cooler at her home outside the Spanish capital.

The sweltering temperatures were "really unbearable on the subway platform", 60-year-old quality manager Julia Munoz said while cooling herself with a fan.

In Belgium, lower temperatures were expected on the coast while the heatwave was set to continue in the east and south.

The Atomium attraction in Brussels, where highs of 34C were expected, would maintain reduced opening hours for the second day in a row on Wednesday to spare visitors from the afternoon heat.

In the country's Dutch-speaking north, students have already broken up for the summer, but in the French-speaking south schools have stayed open through the heatwave.

Staff at the schools were working to keep children cool using fans and air-conditioning where available, water play, outdoor breaks in the shade, or in some cases giving parents the option to keep them home.

The heatwave saw class cancelled for pupils at some 2,000 schools in France on Tuesday, although only around 135 were expected to stay shut Wednesday, according to the education ministry.

- 'Tropical' -

In the Netherlands, the country experienced its first "tropical" night of the year into Wednesday with temperatures not dropping below 20C, according to the weather website Weeronline.

A shepherd in the central Netherlands told local media Omroep Gelderland that he was up unusually early to let his sheep out on Wednesday morning after the muggy night.

"Animals tolerate the cold better than the heat... you have to be careful," the livestock holder Aart said, noting that his flock kept their coats through the heat.

"Without the fleece, they would, for example, get sunburned much faster," he said.

High temperatures were a stress for people, too, prompting authorities to issue warnings for the very old, young, the sick and other vulnerable groups.

"Due to climate change caused by humans, extreme heat is becoming more frequent and intense. This is something we must learn to live with," said Clare Nullis, spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency based in Geneva.

Extreme heat can cause dehydration, muscle cramps, headaches and nausea. The most serious risk is heatstroke, which can lead to death.

burs-sea/jsk/phz

(P.Werner--BBZ)