Britain, western European countries under severe heat warnings amid hot conditions

Millions of people across France woke up drenched in sweat on Tuesday after another night of scorching heat, with many exposed to extreme and strange temperatures.

Temperatures will remain very high throughout the day and night as the national weather service, Meteo France, has put 54 departments under a red heat wave warning, almost half of the country. Other trains have been cancelled, including between Paris and Brussels.

In a country without widespread ventilators, schools, trains and sporting events remain affected, and dozens of drownings have been reported since the weekend.

“Sunshine continues to dominate across France, keeping the heat oppressive and debilitating across the country,” said Metteo France. The extreme conditions are expected to last at least until the end of the week, with daytime temperatures above 40 C in many cities.

“More record-breaking temperatures are expected, including some that may surpass all previous records, regardless of the time of year.”

On Monday, first responders were unable to revive two children, aged two and four, who were found unconscious by their mother in the family car outside their home, a prosecutor in Carpentras, southeastern France, said. Elsewhere in Paris, the municipality has offered free cinema tickets to those under 25 or over 65, so they can take a break in the cool air.

The heat wave is unusually intense, coming at the start of summer, “but at an uncertain time,” the weather service said. Comparisons have already been made with the heat wave of August 2003, when the highest temperatures in more than half a century caused an estimated 15,000 deaths, many of them among elderly people in homes and retirement homes without air conditioning.

France launched a heat warning system after that heat wave.

Britain operates in very hot conditions

Across the British Channel, the Met Office has issued a red extreme heat warning for Wednesday and Thursday, with forecasts suggesting June’s daily temperature record could be broken.

Temperatures of around 37 C are expected in southern England, reaching 35 C in south-east Wales. High temperatures are now forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, when highs could reach at least 39 C. Conditions are expected to improve on Friday, the weather agency said.

In Italy, the health ministry has issued a high-level warning in 15 cities and the government has taken measures to stop or reduce its activity in certain sectors. After a warm morning, storms are expected over the Alps and Apennines on Tuesday afternoon, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and occasional hail, with some spreading to the northern plains later in the day, meteorologists said.

Spain’s weather agency has issued red alerts for all parts of the country, warning of dangerous heat, with temperatures expected to reach 44 C. The warnings follow an already long day on Monday, including a high of more than 45 C in Andujar. Nighttime conditions provided little relief, with about 30 monitoring stations still recording temperatures above 25 C early Tuesday.

Europe is the world’s hottest continent, with temperatures rising at twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Over the past four years, more than 200,000 people across Europe have died from heat-related causes, and most of those deaths were preventable, the World Health Organization’s European office said this month. Above-average temperatures can cause heat exhaustion and life-threatening heatstroke.

The EU monitoring agency found that in Europe and around the world, 2024 was the hottest year on record and the continent experienced the second highest number of “heat stress” days.

Scientists warn that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat and drought, especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.