00:00The heat wave sweeping across parts of Western Europe is hitting France particularly hard.
00:07As temperatures continue to soar, authorities have introduced a range of emergency measures to protect the public.
00:15Parks and gardens are being kept open around the clock.
00:18Local officials have been placed on high alert and vulnerable residents are being identified and registered in municipal databases.
00:27Forecasters warn that conditions are set to deteriorate further in the coming days.
00:33On Saturday, temperatures already exceeded 30 Celsius degrees across much of the country.
00:39Residents and tourists alike were bracing for highs of around 40 degrees on Sunday, with even hotter weather expected on
00:47Monday.
00:48Approximately 60 French departments have been placed under an orange weather alert.
00:53Experts fear a repeat of the deadly events of August 2003, when an unprecedented heat wave claimed nearly 15,000
01:02lives.
01:03Many of those deaths were attributed not only to the extreme temperatures, but also to the severe deterioration in air
01:10quality caused by the prolonged spell of hot weather.
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