History shows French heatwaves used to be far deadlier. The year 1911 saw an uninterrupted scorching summer and tens of thousands of lives lost. As is the case with modern reports claiming all-new “unprecedented events” written by the climate ambulance-chasing media, we usually find out days later that such events have in reality happened before and were in fact far worse. This is the case with the last week’s French “record-breaking” heatwave.
“Crushing” heatwave of 1911
French online Le Parisien here looks back at the “crushing”, “almost uninterrupted” heatwave of 1911, which dragged 70 tortuous days from early July to mid-September. Le Parisien writes how Paris “cooked” under the scorching heat and how “thousands of babies were lost.”Not only Paris was “burning”, but so were other locations across western Europe. Le Parisien reports how temperatures soared to 40°C in Lyon, Bordeaux, and London. For 15 days, the thermometer refused to go below 30°C
The French say that when July is hot, a cool August usually follows. But that was not the case in 1911. August was even worse: “For fifteen days in a row, the Parisian thermometer refused to go below 30°C!” Le Parisien describes how the public turned sour against meteorologists, who had predicted the heat would soon recede and the heat nightmare would end. But that did not happen until mid-September.
41,072 dead, record mortality rate
In total the heatwave claimed more than 40,000 lives, Le Parisien reports. Parts of Paris ran out of water supplies and the dailies reported “the list of victims, mowed down by the heat or its consequences” and how “from July 23 to 29, then from August 13 to 19, mortality reached record highs.”
Le Parisien summarized: “In total, the 1911 heatwave, which lasted until mid-September, caused 41,072 deaths in France” and that most of the victims were either the elderly or babies under two years of age. Overall the tragedy saw infant mortality increase 20%.
“This year will have to be marked with a black cross,” wrote a doctor in his diary. In contrast, the French heatwave of 2003 killed 15,000.
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