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Heat wave sparks health crisis in Paris

A girl and her dog run through sprinklers to refresh themselves at the Champs de Mars in Paris, yesterday. The French paramedics service, the SAMU, said 50 people had died in Paris alone over the past four days as a result of the heat. PHOTO: AFP

At least 50 Parisians have died of heat-related illnesses after a week of record-setting temperatures, a French medical expert said -- a claim that if proven would double the number of deaths blamed on the unrelenting heat wave baking much of Europe.

The government said Monday it was difficult to determine if the deaths were weather-related, because it is often not clear whether patients admitted to hospitals suffer only from heat or from other ailments.

Patrick Pelloux, the head of France's emergency hospital physicians' association, insisted scores of deaths were going uncounted in the Paris region and accused the government of failing to deal with a silent health crisis.

"They dare to talk about ... natural deaths. I absolutely do not agree with that," Pelloux told TF1 television late Sunday.

The government acknowledged an increase in the number of elderly being treated at hospitals, but said it was unclear if the heat was to blame.

"People don't come in with `dying of heat' on their foreheads," said Stephane Grossier, of the Health Ministry. "Things are not as simple as they seem."

Still, funeral directors say demand for their services has risen sharply since the heat wave took hold. Les Pompes funebres generales, France's largest undertaker, said it has handled 50 percent more bodies in Paris, a company spokesman said. He noted the increase was "tied to the heat wave."

Five people between the ages of 89 and 96 died in a retirement home over the weekend in the Essonne, a region south of Paris, the home's director said.

Elsewhere in Europe, authorities counted at least 45 heat-related deaths, the latest occurring in Spain, where five people died Monday while fleeing a forest fire.

The victims, apparently members of one family, left home in the northeastern town of Sant Llorenc Savall and died of smoke inhalation, officials said. Most other Spanish victims were elderly and suffered from chronic lung and heart diseases, officials said.

Temperatures were expected to surge to 43?C in some areas of southern Spain this week before dropping off, the National Weather Center said.

A record high for overnight temperatures in Paris was set Sunday into Monday, when the thermometer hit 25.5?C, according to Meteo France, the national weather service. The previous record was 24?C, set in 1976.

Because of high pollution caused by the heat, Paris police urged motorists not to use their cars Monday and reduced speed limits.

Not even the Nordic countries have been spared. Temperatures in Denmark reached 32?C over the weekend.

Temperatures were cooler in Britain on Monday, a day after the nation recorded its hottest day ever -- 38.1?C -- at Gravesend in southern England.
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