Over the past five days, at least 40 individuals have drowned in France during a severe heat wave. According to Sébastien Lecornu, the country’s prime minister, most victims were young and swimming in unsupervised locations. He described these incidents as a ‘tragic scourge’ during an emergency cabinet meeting.

Marina Ferrari, a minister responsible for youth affairs, highlighted in a French radio interview that these drownings occurred mainly in lakes and canals. She cautioned that swimming in unsupervised areas during a heat wave is dangerous.

This heat wave has gripped much of Europe since mid-last week, with forecasters predicting temperatures in Paris could reach 40 degrees Celsius this week. Central France might experience highs of 43 degrees Celsius, or around 109 degrees Fahrenheit.

More than half of France is under a red heat wave alert, the most intense warning level. Météo-France, the national weather agency, forecasts ‘exceptionally high temperatures’ that could impact public health significantly, both during the day and at night.

‘Temperatures are breaking all records, both locally and nationally, on a daily and nightly basis,’ Prime Minister Lecornu noted.

The heat wave is caused by a ‘heat dome,’ a high-pressure system that traps heat over a region. Météo-France explains these systems block typical weather patterns, resulting in minimal cloud coverage and scarce rainfall.

This marks France’s second heat wave within a month, following record-high temperatures experienced in May. The extreme heat has led to additional fatalities in recent days. French news network BFMTV reported the tragic deaths of two children, aged 2 and 4, left in a car on Monday.