United States braces for crushing heat wave

Vast areas of the central and eastern United States are bracing for a sweltering heat wave next week, with temperatures expected to be unseasonably high for June.

"Temperatures will soar next week from the Midwest to the Northeast, where several dozen record afternoon high and record warm morning lows are set to fall," the National Weather Service said on social media on Friday.

The wave is due to start Sunday in the central United States, then spread across the Midwest and Northeast before Tuesday, and will last most of the week, the weather service said.

"Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths most years. Take it seriously," it warned.

The capital city of Washington activated its "heat emergency" plan Friday, said Mayor Muriel Bowser, and extreme temperatures were forecast for next week.

Several other major cities will also be affected, from Chicago to New York.

Early summer heatwave claims first victim in Cyprus

A 91-year-old woman became the first death from an early heatwave gripping Cyprus as the island sweltered under record June temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) on Friday.

Health officials said a woman died at Nicosia General Hospital suffering from heatstroke; another five elderly patients were being treated in hospitals with severe symptoms of heatstroke.

State health organisation spokesperson Charalambos Charilaou told reporters the woman suffered a cardiac arrest twice on arrival at Nicosia's accident and emergency department.

"After investigating the incident, A&E doctors determined that the cardiac arrest was a result of heatstroke," Charilaou said.

He said hospitals have been dealing with cases of heat exhaustion for several days.

On Friday, Cyprus issued its first red alert of the summer for extreme heat, with the Meteorological Department confirming that maximum temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius.

It was the hottest June day ever recorded on the Mediterranean holiday island.

Due to the extremely high temperatures, the Department of Labour Inspection halted heavy and moderate outdoor work during the afternoon.

Between 12 pm and 4 pm, the transportation or delivery of products using two-wheeled vehicles was also suspended.

Following criticism of the government for not having adequate cooling systems in schools, the education ministry also cut short classes in primary schools, kindergartens and special needs schools at 10:45 am.

Weather experts say that heatwaves of over 40 C are becoming longer in duration.

Friday's record temperature was 10 degrees above the seasonal average for Cyprus.

An early heatwave already gripped Greece earlier this week, prompting authorities there to close the Athens Acropolis and other tourist attractions during the hottest hours of the day. Maximum temperatures in the Greek holiday island of Crete reached 44.5 C.