Vigilance Rouge

Luxembourg will be under a red alert for extreme heat from midday today, most likely lasting until Friday. Temperatures could reach 40°C in some areas. The Weather-Flood Risk Assessment Cell (CERI) described it as an "exceptionally hot and prolonged heatwave" and warned that conditions will impact both the general population and emergency services.[1]

The alert lands on National Day. The torchlight procession, the fireworks from the Adolphe Bridge, the military parade, the free concert at the Glacis, all of it is still scheduled to go ahead. But the Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS) has increased its personnel and established a Joint Operational Command Post at the national crisis centre in Senningen. The centre will coordinate CGDIS, the Police, the Health Directorate, the Army, Luxembourg City authorities, and the High Commission for National Protection throughout the festivities.[2]

The first primary schools have already cancelled afternoon classes. Mertert-Wasserbillig, Grevenmacher, Dudelange, Kayl, Berbourg, Junglinster, and Ell have all suspended afternoon sessions for Monday, and some for Wednesday and Friday as well. Supervision by teaching staff and Maison Relais services will continue. The Ministry of Education has not ordered nationwide closures but has told parents that children with health issues may be kept home on red-alert days. Local exemptions may be granted depending on classroom temperatures, since not all schools are air-conditioned.[3]

Lake Haute-Sure is already at capacity. Beaches at Lultzhausen, Burfelt, and Insenborn were packed over the weekend as people sought relief from the heat. Car parks are full, police are ticketing illegally parked vehicles, and the municipality of Esch-sur-Sure is urging residents to avoid the area entirely.[4]

Stemm vun der Strooss, the street outreach organisation, has increased its water distribution to homeless people. The Health Directorate is reminding everyone to drink water, avoid direct sun between 11am and 9pm, keep curtains closed during the day, and ventilate homes only in the evening. For health symptoms, consult a GP; outside office hours, go to a Maison medicale; for serious problems, call 112.[5]

This is the second summer in a row that Luxembourg has faced an extreme heat event. Last year's July heatwave set records. This one is arriving earlier, in June, and it is arriving on the country's biggest national holiday. Two thousand eight hundred people are expected to carry torches through the streets of Luxembourg City tonight, in temperatures that may still be above 30°C at 9.30pm when the procession sets off from Place du Theatre. The Adolphe Bridge fireworks at 11pm may be the coolest part of the evening.[6]

The joint operations centre in Senningen exists because the alternative is worse. When you combine extreme heat, large crowds, outdoor events, and alcohol, you get heat exhaustion, dehydration, fainting, and cardiac events. CGDIS knows this. The Health Directorate knows this. The question is whether the public knows this well enough to bring water, find shade, and pace themselves through a twelve-hour celebration that happens to fall on the hottest day of the year so far.

If you are going to National Day tonight or tomorrow, carry water. Find shade when you can. The torchlight procession is beautiful. It is also two kilometres of walking, in a crowd, after dark, in 30°C heat. Plan accordingly.