Farming during Europe's intense heatwave

**Leanna Byrne** (0:00)
Counting the cost as Europe's welters above 40 Celsius.

**Vincenzo Casari** (0:04)
Protecting our crops today means protecting the future of the farms, but it's tough, it's very, very tough.

**Pierre-Antoine Denis** (0:10)
We are used to the heat here in the south of France, but not to that level and not that early on in the year.

**Leanna Byrne** (0:16)
It's World Business Report from the BBC World Service. I'm Leanna Byrne. As red heat alerts spread across parts of Europe, Italy brings back measures allowing some businesses to stop work in extreme temperatures. After months of attacks on civilian shipping, the International Maritime Organization prepares to evacuate around 11,000 seafarers from the Gulf and no fuel for sale in Russian-occupied Crimea as Ukraine's campaign to squeeze supply routes starts to hit daily life.
Yes, our top story, Europe is sweltering under an intense heat wave. Red heat alerts have been issued in several countries, including France, Spain, Italy and the UK. The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, made this warning.

**Antonio Guterres** (1:04)
Climate disasters are becoming more frequent, more destructive and more costly. And the World Meteorological Organization has warned we ain't seen nothing yet.
El Nino is not just knocking on the door, it risks blowing the house down.

**Leanna Byrne** (1:22)
In France, tourist attractions including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre have been closed early. The French state weather agency says the country has experienced its hottest day on record. The BBC's Pierre-Antoine Denis is in Nice.

**Pierre-Antoine Denis** (1:35)
It's quite surreal in a way that it's very early on in the year. That's what people have been telling me here. We are used to the heat here in the south of France, but not to that level and not that early on in the year from people trying to get their end of year exams to people working to people in care home. Everyone's been telling me this is not normal. Obviously, being close to the seaside, like here, people have been able to cool off, but there are more landlocked areas of France, especially in this region, that have been suffering from temperatures well above 40 degrees and with the record for the hottest nights last night, then the weather authorities here in France are saying that much more records could fall, including the fact that tonight could be another hotter night here in France. So, everyone has been bracing for a very, very warm night and evening here in France, both in the south but across the country as well.

**Leanna Byrne** (2:27)
In Paris, these bathers have been trying to cool off in the canal.

**SPEAKER_5** (2:30)
It's unbearable. You cannot breathe. You've got your head turning. You sweat all the time. We have to jump because it's the only way to survive.

**SPEAKER_6** (2:40)
People are adapting, but I think it's also kind of a warning sign that this is just the beginning, that the summers will get worse and worse, and that we need to have more places to swim and also our apartments need to be more adapted to it.

**Leanna Byrne** (2:52)
Meanwhile, farmers are trying to protect crops and land. In Italy, the government has reintroduced measures aimed at protecting people most exposed to heat, outdoor workers like farmers and builders. And under those rules, some businesses can suspend or reduce work when temperatures get too high and instead access state support for workers' wages. Vincenzo Cosari runs a fruit and veg and olive farm with his family in Badalotto, southern Italy.

**Vincenzo Casari** (3:19)
It's tough. It's really tough because the climate changing is a big issue. And we have seen a lot of damage in the crops in the last five years, I can say.
When it comes to olive trees, our main preventive measure obviously is to keep the fields clean by removing dry grass and other vegetation that can fuel the fire. And we also work to raise awareness among the neighboring landowners to encourage them to maintain their properties in the same way.
In this case, the fire prevention is a shared responsibility because obviously a single neglected field can impact and increase the risk of the entire area. When there is wind, burning olive leaves can be carried 40, 50 meters away, and this can create new fire outbreaks and quickly turn a small fire into a much larger and more dangerous one. For the vegetables is different. It's a, the challenge is not the fire, but it's an extreme heat. The temperature if it remain very high for several consecutive days, plants experience a severe stress, heat stress, and they can be properly irrigated, but the excessive heat can cause flowers to drop, and without the flowers the plants can not produce fruit. Protecting our crops today means protecting the future of the farms, but it's tough. It's very, very tough.