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26 July, 2019

Notre Dame ceiling faces threat of collapse from ongoing Euro heatwave

The line for the Notre Dame Tower climb in spring 2017 on a sunny day in Paris.

Europe continues to be roasted by an ongoing and unprecedented heatwave, with temperature records being shattered in countries across the continent.

Belgium, the Netherlands and UK all recorded record-breaking temperature highs for the European summer this week, with temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s. This is putting people at risk, with some five per cent of European homes fitted with air-conditioning, according to CNN.

Infrastructure is also reportedly suffering from the extreme weather, with railway tracks at risk of buckling and historic architecture at risk of collapse.

An architect at Notre Dame Cathedral, which is currently undergoing repairs following a massive fire in April, told Reuters the roof is at risk of caving in as a result of the heatwave.

“I am very worried about the heat wave because, as you know, the cathedral suffered from the fire, the beams coming down, but also the shock from the water from the firefighters. The masonry is saturated with water,” chief architect Phillipe Villeneuve said on Wednesday.

In April, Notre Dame Cathedral was engulfed in flames, causing the building’s iconic spire and roof to collapse.

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At the time, French president Emanuel Macron pledged to rebuild the cathedral, while nearly a billion dollars was raised, controversially and almost overnight, by the richest families in France for the reconstruction. The building was already undergoing millions of dollars in repairs at the time of the blaze.

Scientists have warned that unprecedented heatwaves and extreme weather will become more common due to climate change.

On Wednesday, Belgium experienced its hottest day on record, with temperatures rising to 39.9 degrees Celsius.

The Netherlands broke a 75-year record on Wednesday and hit another all-time high of 40 Celsius on Thursday, according to CNN. Temperatures there will reportedly continue to climb.

In the German town of Geilenkirchen, a temperature high of 40.5 degrees Celsius was recorded on Wednesday.

The UK experienced its hottest ever July day on Thursday, with temperatures predicted to beat the hottest ever recorded temperature of 38.5 Celsius, which was set in 2003.

All four countries are on extreme heat alert.

In June, following predictions temperature records would be broken, France experienced its hottest day ever of 45.9 degrees Celsius.

French authorities placed health services and retirement homes on alert, urged children and older people to stay indoors, handed out free water and recommended vigilance against dehydration and heatstroke during the period.

The country’s highest ever temperature, recorded at two separate locations in southern France on 12 August during the 2003 heatwave, was 44.1 degrees. That heatwave saw a reported estimation of 70,000 premature deaths.

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