Europe grips under record heatwave as climate crisis intensifies

France placed 58 departments under its highest red alert as the latest heatwave pushed Europe deeper into a summer of dangerous extremes, with officials warning that the system was disrupting health services, transport, agriculture and power supply. The World Meteorological Organization said the heat was spreading across large parts of western, central and southern Europe, while the United Nations said heat-health action plans were being mobilized for millions of people facing dangerous temperatures.

The toll was already visible on the ground. France recorded its hottest day on record on 24 June, with a national average temperature of 30.0°C, and temperatures reached 43.8°C in Pulluau. Spain logged its hottest June days on record on 23 and 24 June, while the United Kingdom issued a red extreme heat warning and registered a provisional new June daily high of 36.1°C at Gosport. Germany and Switzerland also faced red alerts as the heat pushed through the continent for a third time since May.

Simon Stiell, the UN climate chief, said the heatwave had the “fingerprints of the climate crisis.” The WMO said the event was not isolated, but part of a broader pattern of rapidly intensifying extremes that are becoming more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting. More than 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded across Europe since 21 June, and the World Health Organization said more than 150 million people were affected.

The disruptions cut into daily life and economic activity. France imposed alcohol bans and canceled mass gatherings in some areas, while major Paris landmarks closed early. Germany reported melting road surfaces, Sweden saw rail tracks twist in the heat, and France experienced heat-related power outages. Those consequences matched the WMO’s warning that the crisis was hitting infrastructure, agriculture, ecosystems and the broader economy at the same time.

The latest emergency is unfolding on a continent that is already warming faster than any other. Copernicus says Europe is heating at more than twice the global average and is now about 2.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The European Commission said 2025 brought above-average temperatures across at least 95% of Europe, while Copernicus recorded Europe’s second most severe heatwave on record that year and the largest area ever burned by wildfires, about 1,034,550 hectares.