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Record-breaking heat alerts are in effect across France as the nation, along with other regions in southern and eastern Europe, grapples with escalating temperatures.
Currently, 84 of France’s 96 mainland departments are under an orange alert, the country’s second-highest warning level. Climate Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher has described the situation as “unprecedented.”
Heat advisories are also in place for parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, the UK, and Balkan countries including Croatia.
Both Spain and Portugal experienced their hottest June days on record over the weekend.
El Granado in Andalucía recorded a temperature of 46C on Saturday, while Mora in central Portugal reached 46.6C on Sunday.
Numerous countries have activated emergency medical services and are urging residents to remain indoors whenever possible.
Approximately 200 schools across France have been either closed or partially closed due to the heatwave, which has affected parts of Europe for over a week and is expected to peak mid-week.
Education Minister Elisabeth Borne stated she is collaborating with regional authorities to determine the best strategies for safeguarding schoolchildren or allowing parents who are able to keep their children at home.
Several wildfires erupted in the southern Corbières mountain range on Sunday, resulting in evacuations and the closure of a motorway. Fire authorities reported to French media on Monday that the fires have since been contained.
Meanwhile, 21 Italian cities, including Rome, Milan, and Venice, along with Sardinia, are under the highest alert level.
Mario Guarino, vice president of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine, told AFP news agency that hospital emergency departments across the country had reported a 10% increase in heatstroke cases.
Parts of the UK could experience one of the hottest June days on record on Monday, with temperatures potentially reaching 34C or higher in certain areas of England.
Much of Spain, which is on track to record its hottest June on record, remains under heat alerts.
“I can’t sleep well and have insomnia. I also get heat strokes, I stop eating and I just can’t focus,” Anabel Sanchez, 21, told Reuters news agency in Seville.
The situation is similar in Portugal, where seven districts, including the capital, Lisbon, are under the highest alert level.
The German Meteorological Service has warned that temperatures could reach nearly 38C on Tuesday and Wednesday, potentially setting new record-breaking temperatures.
The heatwave has caused lower water levels in the Rhine River, a major shipping route, which is limiting the amount of cargo ships can transport and increasing freight costs.
Countries in and around the Balkans are also contending with the intense heat, although temperatures have begun to cool slightly.
In Turkey, firefighters are continuing efforts to extinguish hundreds of wildfires that have erupted in recent days.
A fire in the Seferihisar district, 50km (30 miles) south-west of the resort city of Izmir, is being fueled by winds and has already destroyed around 20 homes, leading to the evacuation of some residential areas.
Wildfires have also broken out in Croatia, where severe heat warnings are in effect for coastal areas.
Temperatures in Greece have been approaching 40C for several days, and coastal towns near the capital Athens experienced fires last week that destroyed homes, forcing evacuations.
On Wednesday, Serbia reported its hottest day since records began, while a record 38.8C was recorded in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Thursday. In Slovenia, the hottest-ever June temperature was recorded on Saturday.
The temperature in North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje, reached 42C on Friday and is expected to remain in that range.
Beyond the potential health issues, the heatwave is also impacting the climate. Higher temperatures in the Adriatic Sea are encouraging invasive species such as the poisonous lionfish, while also causing further stress on alpine glaciers that are already shrinking at record rates.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk warned on Monday that the heatwave underscores the need for climate adaptation, including transitioning away from practices and energy sources, such as fossil fuels, that contribute to climate change.
“Rising temperatures, rising seas, floods, droughts, and wildfires threaten our rights to life, to health, to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and much more,” he told the UN Human Rights Council.
According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, heatwaves are becoming more frequent due to human-caused climate change.
The panel has stated that extreme hot weather will occur more often and become even more intense as the planet continues to warm.
Richard Allan, Professor of Climate Science at the University of Reading in the UK, explained that rising greenhouse gas levels are making it harder for the planet to dissipate excess heat.
“The warmer, thirstier atmosphere is more effective at drying soils, meaning heatwaves are intensifying, with moderate heat events now becoming extreme.”
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