The bodies of two young children were found in their mother’s car during 38°C weather in southern France.
The children, aged 2 and 4, were found unresponsive in their family car early this afternoon, parked in the garage of their home in Carpentras, Provence.
It’s unclear how the young children made their way into the car or how long they remained inside.
Their mother, 33, was ‘unaware’ the pair were inside until she made the discovery and called for help.
Police and firefighters were alerted around 1:10pm, according to La Provence, but the children could not be saved.
Europe is also enduring a record-breaking heatwave, with highs of more than 40°C in parts of France.
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Emergency services and military forces have been put on a wildfire alert throughout the country.
Public alcohol consumption restrictions have been put in place by French authorities, and some outdoor sporting events have been cancelled.
Elsewhere, temperatures are forecast to hit 37°C in Rome and 39°C in Madrid on Monday.
UK issues rare red weather warning
The UK issued a rare red alert due to excessive heat this week. Last summer was the hottest on record for the UK, with a mean temperature of 16.1°C between the start of June and the end of August, according to the Met Office.
The previous record was held by summer 2018, followed by 2006, 2003, 2022 and 1976.
The Met Office said this week’s heatwave will see temperatures exceed 37 in the shade and could even see them rise to 38°C to 40°C in some parts of England and Wales.
The hot conditions, which have been very rare in the UK until now, will be accompanied by high humidity and very warm and humid nights, which will make it hard for people to recover overnight, the forecasters added.
The UK Health Security Agency issued the red health warning for six regions of England – the West Midlands, East Midlands, South East, South West, London, and the East of England.
This alert indicates ‘a risk to life for even the healthy population’ as well as impacts beyond health and social care, with potential effects on transport systems, food, water, energy supplies and businesses.
It is the second red heat health warning to be issued, after the first in July 2022 when temperatures soared above 40°C in the UK for the first time.
Mel Evans, Greenpeace UK’s head of climate, said: ‘Today’s forecast is staggering. Heatwaves are expected to get longer, hotter and more dangerous to human life, to crops and to wildlife.
‘Ordinary people are increasingly paying the price for extreme heat they didn’t cause, while fossil fuel giants continue to rake in billions.’
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