Western Europe bakes under second June heatwave as records fall and deaths mount

On Monday afternoon, the cities of Rennes, Bordeaux and Angers each registered their highest ever measured temperatures at 40.6°C, 41.9°C and 40.9°C respectively. The highest single reading nationwide was 43.3°C in Chateaumeillant, in the Cher département, though Météo-France noted this did not constitute a national all-time record.

French authorities placed 54 of the country's 96 mainland départements under the highest red heat alert, covering just under 39 million people. More than 1,350 schools were closed nationwide on Monday and in more than 4,000 schools classes ended at midday to keep children out of the hottest hours.

Red alerts and school closures

Météo-France warned that the extreme heat was settling permanently over the country. „Die sehr große Hitze setzt sich dauerhaft im Land fest," the service said, urging residents to limit exertion and stay hydrated.

Across the Channel, the UK Met Office issued its highest red heat alert for parts of central and southern England for Wednesday and Thursday, with peak temperatures expected to reach up to 40°C in London, Birmingham, Bath and other cities. The existing UK June heat record of 35.6°C was expected to be broken.

Heatwave spreads across the continent

In Spain, the weather service Aemet warned of „extrem hohen" daytime and nighttime temperatures for the season until Wednesday, with peaks of up to 44°C forecast in some regions. On Sunday, temperatures of 42°C had already been recorded in Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha, and red alert was declared in the Basque Country when readings exceeded 40°C on Monday. Authorities there urged residents to keep windows closed and avoid using heat-generating household appliances.

Belgium also felt the heat. David Dehenauw, head of the forecasting department at the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, said a heat record was expected that week. State rail company SNCB cancelled trains mainly during peak hours on Monday and Tuesday to prevent technical faults and breakdowns.

In the Paris region, regional president Valérie Pécresse noted that rails can deform in the heat and air conditioning in crowded wagons can fail, leading to precautionary cancellations of one in ten trains in the Île-de-France region. People in the Paris region were asked to postpone travel and to work from home if possible.

Italy is in the grip of a strong heatwave, with maximum temperatures of up to 40°C forecast over the next eight to ten days, particularly in the Po plain in northern Italy, inland central Italy and Sardinia. In parts of the country temperatures are running up to 10°C above the end-of-June averages. Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and inland Portugal were also under heat warnings.

A rising toll

The human toll has been severe. France's civil protection service reported 13 deaths in bathing accidents over the weekend, while German authorities reported five such deaths over the same period. On Sunday two men died while swimming at the Wiener Gänselhäufel in Vienna. Authorities had previously attributed the deaths of three people aged between 80 and 95 in the southwestern French region of Gironde to the extreme heat, which was unusual for June.

In southern France, two children aged two and four were found dead on Monday in their parents' car in a parking lot in the city of Carpentras, in the Vaucluse département. The local fire brigade said it had discovered „zwei Kinder mit Herz-Kreislauf-Stillstand" after an emergency call. The children's mother was treated by rescue services and could initially not be questioned. The prosecutor's office stated that „Die Todesursache wird noch untersucht, aber die Hitzewelle gilt als wahrscheinlichste Erklärung."

A civil protection spokesperson urged people to cool off only at supervised swimming spots or simply take cold showers. „Ein Zivilschutz-Sprecher rief die Menschen eindringlich dazu auf, sich nur an bewachten Badestellen abzukühlen - oder einfach kalt zu duschen." In Madrid, the public broadcast of the World Cup football match between Spain and Saudi Arabia was cancelled because of the heat.

Scientists have linked the increasing frequency and intensity of such extremes to the climate crisis. The IPCC states that extreme weather events such as floods, storms and heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense. Aemet forecast cooling for Thursday, but for many across the continent the relief cannot come soon enough. The broadcast date of the original report was 22 June 2026.