Paris heatwave: European city on red alert amid scorching temperatures - schools closed and SNCF Connect trains suspended

Train travel between France and Italy is suspended for “at least several days” after violent storms earlier in the week, French national operator SNCF said, AFP reported. The storms on Monday in southeastern France have forced a clean-up operation during which SNCF will check there has been no damage to tracks on the Paris-Milan high speed line which would prolong the closure, it said.

It comes as Paris is on red alert for high temperatures today (Tuesday 1 July). Polluting traffic has been banned and speed restrictions are in place as a searing heatwave grips Europe.

Temperatures in France were expected to hit a peak on Tuesday, according to the Meteo France weather agency, with the highest extreme heat warning in place in 16 departments across the country. Across the Ile-de-France region which includes Paris, police said all but the least polluting vehicles would be banned from the roads from 0330 GMT to 2200 GMT because of high ozone pollution levels.

Speed limits of 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) per hour would also remain in some places. Across the country, the government said it expected nearly 1,350 schools to be partially or completely shut – nearly double the number on Monday – with teachers complaining of overheated and unventilated classrooms making students unwell.

Warnings were issued for young children, older people and those with chronic illnesses. Similar temperatures in the high 30s to mid 40s were forecast in Spain after they soared to 46°C in the south – a new record for June, according to the national weather agency. Red alerts have also been issued for 18 Italian cities in the coming days, including Rome, Milan, Verona, Perugia and Palermo, as well as across the Adriatic on the Croatian coast and Montenegro.