40 people have drowned in France over recent days as they sought to cool down to escape record heat, the prime minister said on Tuesday, as a heatwave swept across much of Europe.
Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Spain were also sweltering in extreme heat, with record temperatures in some regions disrupting schools and transport networks.
Europe is warming at more than twice the global average, according to the World Meteorological Organisation, making such prolonged heat episodes increasingly likely.
Heat alert across France
Much of France is under severe heat alert and set to experience temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, Meteo France said, with temperatures of up to 43°C expected in some parts of western France.
The country has just recorded its hottest afternoon and night since records began in 1947. Fifty-four departments are under red alert in what forecasters said was unprecedented.
Across France, people have been jumping into canals and rivers to cool off. French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari said she understood the urge to escape the heat but warned against swimming in unauthorised or dangerous areas.
Speaking ahead of an emergency meeting on the heatwave, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said: “A sad scourge when it comes to drownings, as the latest figures just reported to us show 40 deaths since June 18, most of them young people.”
On Monday, first responders were unable to resuscitate two children, aged 2 and 4, who were found unconscious by their mother in the family car outside their home, said a prosecutor in Carpentras, southeast France.
Business activity slows
In Paris, commuters struggled through sweltering conditions after sleepless nights in apartments ill-equipped for heat. Some trains were cancelled, including those between Paris and Brussels.
Business leaders said the economy was also taking a hit.
“France is running at a slow pace. Businesses, as far as possible, are implementing recommendations to protect their employees,” the head of France’s MEDEF employers group, Patrick Martin, told BFM TV.
Head dome
Europe’s heatwave is driven by a weather pattern known as an Omega block, because it takes the shape of the Greek letter, with a bulge of hot air in the middle and cooler air on either side, allowing temperatures to build day after day.
Heatwaves and storms are being intensified by climate change, pushing temperatures higher and causing more rainfall.
Meteo France said current conditions were comparable to the August 2003 heatwave, which lasted 16 days and led to an estimated 80,000 excess deaths across Europe, according to the EU. It was uncertain how long the current episode would last.
Storms part of volatile weather pattern
In Italy, the health ministry issued its highest level alert for 15 cities and authorities took measures to curtail work in some sectors. Storms are expected later on Tuesday over the Alps and Apennines, bringing heavy rain, gusty winds and hail.
Britain is also in the grip of the heat, with the Met Office forecasting temperatures of up to 37°C in southern England on Tuesday — potentially a new June record — before rising further on Wednesday and Thursday.
Dozens of schools plan early closures, citing buildings ill-suited to the heat.
Transport networks across Europe came under strain. Britain’s Network Rail warned passengers to travel only if necessary later this week as temperatures approach 39°C, with speed restrictions likely to disrupt services.
In London, overnight thunderstorms — part of the same volatile weather pattern — caused further disruption, including at Heathrow Airport.
Climate shelters
Spain’s meteorological agency has issued red alerts across parts of the country, warning of dangerous heat with temperatures expected to reach 44°C. Nighttime has brought little relief, with around 30 monitoring stations still recording temperatures above 25°C early on Tuesday.
Madrid has opened climate shelters for vulnerable people, including the homeless. The shelters would “provide a climate-controlled environment, offer basic food, allow visitors to take a shower, and give them a chance to rest for a while,” said Juan Carlos Arellano of Madrid’s Samur Social.
Dozens of municipalities across northern Spain cancelled traditional bonfires due to wildfire risks, underlining how extreme temperatures are disrupting both cultural traditions and everyday activities.
In Belgium, soaring temperatures forced a primary school in Tervuren, near Brussels, to relocate its final exams to a nearby church.
In Switzerland, the northeastern canton of St. Gallen restricted water withdrawal from rivers and lakes, saying that surface and groundwater levels were low and temperatures were high.
It’s cooler up north
As southern Europe bakes, cooler northern destinations are drawing tourists seeking a “coolcation”.
“We were thinking about travelling to Croatia, but we came to Sweden because it’s cooler here,” said German tourist Katharina Rexing in Stockholm’s Old Town, on a day when it was 22 °C in the Swedish capital and 30°C in Croatia’s Zagreb.
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