REUTERS, Paris

Western Europe was in the grip of a deadly, record-setting heatwave yesterday that has killed dozens of people, closed schools, slowed trains, knocked out electricity and forced farmers to harvest grain at night.

In France, authorities sought to restore electricity to thousands of homes hit by power cuts in the northwestern region of Brittany. The recorded temperature peaked at 44.3 degrees Celsius in the town of Pissos. Italy’s health ministry issued its highest heat alert for 16 cities, from Florence and Milan to Rome, Turin and Verona.

A rare weather pattern known as an Omega block was causing the record-breaking temperatures across Europe.