The Associated Press reports that a heat wave is causing alarm in Southern Europe. Temperatures in Southern Spain have been hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for weeks now according to the AP report. Europeans are hoping this heat wave will not be as bad as the one in 2003 that killed over 40,000 people. 20,000 people in Italy alone were killed by the heat wave primarily due to a lack of air conditioning.
With Spain well used to high summer temperatures, many residential buildings are equipped with air conditioning which helped limit the 2003 official death toll to 101, whereas in neighbouring France, at least 14,847 people died.
French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand has therefore promised the installation of a nationwide emergency system, including a requirement that all establishments for the elderly should have at least one air-conditioned room.
Italy was also on high alert, with the health risks linked to above-normal temperatures highlighted by the release of an official report saying that almost 20,000 Italians had died in the 2003 heat wave -- more than double the previous estimate.
The Europe-wide toll for the extraordinary heat wave of 2003 had previously been estimated at around 30,000 but the Italian figure would boost it to 40,000.
Update: The BBC provides these pictures about the drought in Southern Europe.
