Europe is once again suffering a heatwave that has already left dozens dead in France

London / BarcelonaA new episode of intense and widespread heat is setting record highs across much of Western and Central Europe. Sustained high temperatures for several days and sleepless nights are affecting countries accustomed to heat this week—albeit not so early—such as France, Catalonia, Spain, and Italy, and parts of the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Germany, where it is becoming less exceptional for the mercury to soar. The impact of the heatwave on health is high, and several states have issued meteorological alerts to warn the population of dehydration, heatstroke, and even death.

The United Kingdom is no longer a climatic refuge. The Meteorological Service (Met Office) has issued a red alert—the second in its history—for much of England and Wales between Wednesday and Thursday. Meteorologists predict that the historical temperature record for the month of June, set at 35.6 °C in 1976, the year of a drought that is still remembered by the post-war generation, will be surpassed.

Forecasts point to highs of up to 37 °C this Tuesday and up to 40 °C in some parts of southern England over the next 48 hours. A few weeks ago, the islands broke their record for the month of May two days in a row, exceeding 35 °C. This week's heatwave could still be worse. And this episode is already causing significant disruptions in the country.

Several schools in the English southwest have announced they will advance students' departure times, while rail operators have cancelled or modified services to avoid incidents arising from high temperatures. Some universities in London and the southeast of the country have also suspended in-person classes to avoid travel, and they will be conducted online from this Tuesday until Thursday. During the night, strong storms associated with the extremely warm and humid atmosphere have struck southern Great Britain, with 29,000 lightning strikes recorded, localized flooding, power outages, and several fires presumably caused by lightning strikes.

The impact of the heatwave affecting the islands extends to the continent. Europe is facing the peak of exceptional heat this Tuesday, which has already caused fatalities in several countries. France is one of the most affected territories. The government has convened a crisis meeting after confirming that the highest average temperature since records began was recorded there last night: 21.6 °C. The average daytime and nighttime temperature reached 29.2 °C on Monday, a new record for the month of June. Furthermore, many French municipalities have broken their own heat records since records began. In Châteaumeillant, in the center of the country, thermometers reached 43.3 °C. In Paris, thermometers are expected to reach 39 °C this Tuesday, and 41 °C tomorrow.

French authorities have directly attributed the deaths of two children, aged two and four, found inside a vehicle in Carpentras, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France, and that of three elderly people in a retirement home in Gironde, to extreme heat. In addition, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu reported that 40 people have drowned since June 18, mainly young people trying to cool off in rivers, canals, or swimming areas. "These are the first victims of the crisis we are facing," he stated.

Aquatic accidents and drownings

Experts highlight that this heatwave is particularly concerning because it arrives very early in summer and is accompanied by unusually high humidity levels. According to the British Met Office, an episode equivalent to 1976 could lead to temperatures of up to 45°C in England by 2056 if current global warming trends continue. The drought that year was followed by torrential rains and widespread flooding in northern and central England. 

Italy is also on high alert. The Ministry of Health has activated a red alert in fifteen cities, including Rome, Milan, Florence, Turin, and Venice, and plans to extend it to sixteen more on Wednesday. Authorities recommend avoiding outdoor activities during the central hours of the day, staying hydrated, and remaining in air-conditioned spaces. In Rome, the municipal transport company has admitted that the intensive use of air conditioning is draining the batteries of new electric buses before their shifts end.

Preventive measures are also being taken in the Netherlands: Amsterdam has begun to deploy a network of climate refuge spaces in libraries, community centers, churches, and other public facilities aimed at protecting the most vulnerable population. And in Belgium, temperatures will exceed 30°C on Tuesday. If forecasts are correct, June 22-28 will be the hottest week ever recorded in the country, with an average temperature of approximately 27°C.

But the extreme heat is also increasing water accidents. In addition to the 40 drownings in France, German police have reported the deaths of five people over the weekend, three of them in the Rhine River. The new rise in temperatures comes a month after another exceptional heatwave in Western Europe. All of this reinforces the warnings from the scientific community about an increasingly evident reality: heatwaves are more frequent, longer, and more intense than in previous decades, one of the most visible manifestations of global warming caused by human activity.

What is happening?

This exceptional and prolonged heatwave is the result of a combination of two factors. On one hand, a powerful anticyclonic ridge has settled over Western and Central Europe, blocking the arrival of cooler air masses from the Atlantic. On the other hand, this pattern is facilitating a clear incursion of very warm North African air, coming from the Sahara, with dust and southerly winds driven by a DANA (isolated depression) located in the Atlantic.

Climate change and global warming cause anticyclones and warm air masses from North Africa to reach and spread across Europe with increasing ease, leading to heat reaching record highs year after year. As the anticyclone is persistent, it acts like a dome that guarantees strong solar radiation for many days and a constant rise in temperatures. This explains why temperatures remain well above average both day and night.

The most extreme values have been recorded and will continue to be recorded in the south and interior of the Iberian Peninsula, in the Ebro Valley, in much of France, and in other parts of Western and Central Europe, with exceptional temperature anomalies for a month of June, exceeding 15 °C in some countries.

In the Guadalquivir Valley, temperatures have exceeded 44 or 45 °C in recent days, with 45.1 °C recorded on Monday in Andújar (Jaén) being noteworthy. Spain is not experiencing the worst heatwave in its history, but some local records have been broken. For example, the minimum temperature of 31.5 °C on Tuesday in Cabo de Gata (Almería) stands out. Never, since records began, had minimums above 30 °C – known as 'tropical nights' – been reached in June across the entire Iberian Peninsula. In Catalonia, the peak of the episode occurred on Monday, with many maximums reaching or exceeding 40 °C in inland areas, and 43 °C in Vilanova de Segrià being notable.

Looking ahead to the coming days, the heat will remain very intense, but gradually the thermometers will start to drop in our region, with the hope that next week will be much more bearable. At a European level, extreme heat will continue to affect France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and parts of the United Kingdom particularly until at least Thursday, but by the end of the week, the air will be more breathable. In Germany, the peak will arrive during the final part of the week.