How hot is it in France? Get the facts

This week newspapers have reported school closures and exam cancellations due to heat in France

Certainly the Department of Health has installed special measures. Its website has press releases and links to national heat plans

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The national French weather service France Meteo has news on Canicule. It includes projections on climate change 

and an article on the increasing number of heatwaves in the last 30 years

They also have an interactive display of future and past mappings of climate change.

the National Observatory On Effects of Climate Warming (ONERC in French) presents an index of the observed evolution of the yearly number of summer days (max temperature higher than 25 °C).


DRIAS Portal is another French government site which has climate temperature predictions. Check the definitions of heat waves between the two as definitions can differ.

There is also a specific climate agency for Paris. It has data on changing temperatures.

This academic article published recently in IOP science has predictions of future mega heatwaves in France

 For information on Europe in general try these resources

The European Environment Agency has a good series of papers with reports and data on rising temperatures and the impact on health in Europe. It includes discussion of recent and projected trends.

The European Climate Adaptation Platform Climate-ADAPT site is a partnership between the European Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA). It enables researchers to 

 access and share data and information on:

Expected climate change in Europe

Current and future vulnerability of regions and sectors

EU, national and transnational adaptation strategies and actions

Adaptation case studies and potential adaptation options

Tools that support adaptation planning

On a world wide scale.World Mapper has produced some maps on heatwave deaths 2001-2017. PLOS has a useful article which attempts to model and quantify the number of deaths
Search Pubmed for information on other related studies on heat and health

Do you drink 25 cups of coffee a day? good news

According to a newspaper report scientists have found that 25 cups a day is not bad for you.
this was from British Heart Foundation funded research lead investigator Professor S. Petersen QMW
for more medical research on the health impact of coffee drinking see these reviews from PubMed

and search the database for links to abstracts and full text scientific articles

Further research on positive impacts can also be found on the coffee and health website from The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC) . However be aware membership is related to a number of coffee companies


How much coffee is consumed in the UK?

British Coffee Association records 95 million cups.

in this report on the industry page 25 it estimates average number of cups drunk -

in a survey of 2,000 published in 2017-.  28 per cent of the participants indicated that they consumed zero cups of coffee per day, 18.8 per cent one cup per day and 18.9 per cent consume two.  6 per cent of the survey participants indicated that they consumed six cups of coffee or more per day

The report also has interesting facts on takeaway and home  coffee sales and employment in the industry

According to the Office of National Statistics this is costing us more as coffee has increased in price by 42% from 2007-2017

the National Diet and Nutrition surveys look at total consumption of food and drink and include facts on tea and coffee. Although this recent BMJ article has considered how it ought to be measured more accurately

To see how UK compares with world consumption see facts from the International Coffee Organisation. It also has coffee price and markets data

Happy Bicycle day- use our links to find out why cycling matters

3rd of June has been designated by the United Nations as World Bicycle Day. Read the resolution and statements on their official website to find out why

 How popular is cycling?

The Dept for Transport issues regular walking and cycling statistics for England in 2017 it found that 14% of people cycle at least once a week. The report has breakdowns by gender, region and local authority

To see how this compares with other modes of transport try the more general 

The Public Attitudes towards Transport surveys also have some interesting opinions on attitudes towards cycling and cars. They include data on perceptions of danger 

 for comparisons with other European nations try these reports from European Commission

What are the health benefits of cycling?

This systematic review examines the evidence weighing up the risks from pollution and rads with health outcomes. See the results via PubMed where you can also search for other quality health articles on this topic.

 What is the future for Cycling?

the Global Outlook on Walking and Cycling published by UNEP in 2016 examined trends and policies to on cycling around the world, Try browsing the UN Habitat website for recent reports and programme details on urban mobility which often includes coverage of cycling.

the 2015 report A Global High Shift Cycling Scenario from ITDP examined the
The Potential for Dramatically Increasing Bicycle and E-bike Use in Cities Around the World, with Estimated Energy, CO2, and Cost Impacts found it could have positive impacts on world economies and the environment. The Institute for Transportation and Development policy has other useful reports on cycling and walking and development.

The World Cycling Alliance unites non-governmental organisations who advocate for cycling policies. Its website has information on projects such as bike sharing