Macron calls for vigilance as western Europe faces second heatwave of year

More than half of France’s population is under a severe weather warning as large swathes of western Europe endure the second extreme heat event of the year with temperatures expected to exceed 40C (104F). The French president, Emmanuel Macron, called for “extreme vigilance from everyone”, asking citizens to “take care of our oldest and most vulnerable people” and follow government advice. “We are going through difficult days,” he said. A 30-year-old man died after going into cardiac arrest on an athletics track near Paris on Thursday as the temperature hit 37C, prompting the rail operator SNCF to cancel 71 intercity trains and schools to reschedule exams. The national weather service, Météo-France, extended its ⁠orange heatwave alert to cover 53 of the country’s 96 mainland departments – home to 36 million people – from midday on Friday, warning of a “widespread, prolonged ​and intense” heatwave. Astronomical summer does not begin until Sunday, but the heatwave is already France’s second extreme temperature event of the year after an unusually hot spell in May that shattered local and national monthly temperature records. Météo-France said temperatures were likely to average 36C in the north-west and 38C in the centre and south on Friday. After a slight dip on Saturday they are forecast to rise to 40C in many regions, including Paris, early next week. Children cool off in the Saint-Martin canal in Paris. …