Heat wave in France: Notre Dame is threatened by the collapse of a ceiling ravaged by fire | World | New

This centuries-old Parisian emblem was devastated in April by a hell that ripped the ceiling and sent the top of the cathedral spire crashing against the roof. A sufficient portion of the ceiling survived the fire to allow reconstruction, but the record heat wave record puts the project at risk.

Philippe Villeneuve, chief architect, said: "I am very worried about the heat wave. What I fear is that the joints or the masonry, drying, lose their coherence, their cohesion and their structural qualities and that suddenly, the vault gives way. "

Mr. Villeneuve stated that the vaulted ceiling "could very well" collapse and that, unlike the steeples and other parts of the cathedral, the experts had still not been able to access the ceiling from above or from below.

The heat wave has intensified in France: 80 of its 96 administrative departments on the continent have alerted Orange – the second highest level of alert.

US forecaster Meteo France predicted a record temperature of around 42 ° C in Paris as the second intense summer heat wave reached its peak.

The record temperature of the French capital of 40.4 ° C was recorded in 1947.

President Emmanuel Macron promised that Notre Dame would be rebuilt five years from now.

The workers erected a giant white tarp on the defeated roof, stabilized the pinnacles of the cathedral and placed dozens of sensors to detect any movement.

The fire of the cathedral, built for nearly 200 years from the mid-twelfth century and long symbol of Paris, caused a wave of sadness in France and around the world.

A high-pressure system sucking up the hot air of the Sahara Desert has broken temperature records in Belgium and the Netherlands and threatens to do the same in Great Britain, Germany and France.

In Spain, forest fires have occurred in the northern province of Zaragoza, where the temperature is expected to reach 41 ° C (106 ° F).

Italian authorities have issued fire alarms in Sardinia, where temperatures are expected to exceed 40 ° C.

They also put 13 cities on their highest "red" weather alert – a warning about a potential threat to the health of all, not just frail and infirm people.