Europe is 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—though not this early—such as France, Catalonia, Spain, and Italy, and parts of the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Germany, where it is increasingly 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 climate 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. English meteorologists predicted 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, would be surpassed. And finally, the worst predictions have come true: on Wednesday, 36.1 °C was reached in Gosport, in southern England, which has become the new June heat record for the entire United Kingdom. Furthermore, during the early hours of Thursday, the highest minimum temperature for the month of June was reached: 23.5 °C at Cardiff Bute Park, in Wales.

A few weeks ago, the islands broke their record for the month of May for two consecutive days, surpassing 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 resulting from high temperatures. Some universities in London and the southeast of the country have also suspended in-person classes to avoid travel and will be held online from this Tuesday until Thursday. During the early hours of Tuesday, severe thunderstorms associated with the extremely warm and humid weather descended upon 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 is extensive to the mainland. Europe is facing the peak of exceptional heat these days, which has already caused fatalities in several countries. France is one of the most affected territories. The government convened a crisis meeting after confirming the first heat records. The daytime and nighttime average reached 30°C on Wednesday, a new record for the month of June. Furthermore, many French municipalities have broken their own heat records since records began. In Pissos, in the department of Landes, an extraordinary maximum of 44.3°C was reached on Tuesday. And in Paris, 40.9°C was reached on Wednesday, a new heat record for the month of June in the French capital.

French authorities have directly attributed to extreme heat the deaths of two infants, aged two and four, found inside a vehicle in Carpentras, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the southeast of the country, and that of three elderly people in a residence in Gironde. In addition, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has 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 that of 1976 could lead to temperatures of up to 45°C in England by 2056 if current global warming trends continue. That year's drought was later followed by torrential rains and widespread flooding in northern and central England. 

Italy is also on maximum 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 this 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 intended to protect the most vulnerable population. And in Belgium, temperatures will exceed 30°C this Tuesday. If forecasts are correct, June 22nd to 28th 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 aquatic 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 the combination of two factors. On the 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, originating from the Sahara, with dust and southerly winds driven by a DANA located in the Atlantic.

The climate crisis 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 levels year after year. As the anticyclone is persistent, it acts like a dome that ensures strong solar radiation for many days and a constant rise in thermometers. 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, notably the 45.1 °C recorded on Monday in Andújar (Jaén). Spain has experienced its worst heatwave in June, with the 23rd and 22nd being the first and second warmest days since records began in the state for the month of June, respectively. These figures surpass last June's records. Several records have been broken, and for example, the minimum temperature of 31.5 °C recorded on Tuesday in Cabo de Gata (Almería) stands out. Never, since records have been kept, had minimums above 30 °C – known as 'tropical nights' – been reached in June anywhere on the Iberian Peninsula. Northern Spain has also broken several records, notably the 43.7 °C reached on Tuesday in Tana (Cantabria), an absolute record for heat in this province since data is available. In Catalonia, the peak of the episode was on Monday, with many maximums reaching or exceeding 40 °C in the interior, and notably the 43 °C in Vilanova de Segrià.

Over the next few 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. Across Europe, extreme heat will continue to affect France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and parts of the United Kingdom especially until at least Thursday, but by the end of the week, conditions will improve. In Germany, the peak will occur during the final stretch of the week.