Europe’s record heat wave spreads, with more 40C days ahead

France recorded its hottest day on record on 24 June, a national average of 30.0C, as the heat wave kept building across Europe rather than easing. The system is expected to spread across large parts of western, central and southern Europe over the next two weeks, with temperatures running 3C to 10C above the weekly average and many areas likely to top 35C again, while some southwest locations may exceed 40C.

Spain has already logged its hottest June days on 23 and 24 June, with several places climbing above 40C, even as parts of Spain and France get brief relief. The United Kingdom is sitting on the edge of the system, between very warm continental air and cooler, unsettled air to the northwest. The UK Met Office issued a red extreme heat warning for 24 and 25 June, and a provisional June daily high of 36.1C was recorded at Gosport in southern England on 24 June.

The hottest air is now pushing toward the continent’s center, raising the stakes for cities and services in Germany and Switzerland, including Bonn, Frankfurt, Cologne, Geneva, Basel and Zurich. Many places are expected to endure tropical nights, when temperatures do not fall below 20C, leaving little overnight recovery for hospitals, transport crews and workers trying to keep essential services moving. A strong high-pressure system over continental Europe is driving the pattern, suppressing cloud cover and allowing prolonged sunshine and compressional heating.

Authorities are already moving to reduce exposure. French officials issued red alerts for a record 58 departments, and the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum restricted visiting hours as transport and school routines were disrupted. The Louvre said it was closing earlier because it is not sufficiently adapted to climate change. In France, 40 drowning deaths occurred in the past week as people looked for relief in rivers and other bodies of water.

National weather services and partners are mobilizing heat-health action plans for millions of people. UN climate chief Simon Stiell said the “savage heatwave has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it.”