A severe, early-summer heatwave affected western and central Europe in late June, setting numerous national temperature records across multiple countries and leading to fatalities, health alerts, school closures, and transport disruptions. The World Health Organization (WHO) and national health agencies reported a significant number of heat-related deaths and drownings.
Temperature Records
United Kingdom
- Multiple daily records were set and broken on consecutive days.
- On Monday, a temperature of 34.8°C was recorded at London's Kew Gardens, and 33.5°C at Heathrow Airport, breaking the previous May record of 33.3°C.
- On Tuesday, the national June record was broken for the third consecutive day, with a provisional high of 37.3°C reported in Santon Downham, Suffolk. Other records included 36.7°C at Merryfield, Somerset, and 35.8°C in Wiggonholt, West Sussex. The previous June record of 35.6°C was set in 1976.
- Scotland recorded 29.4°C in Dyce, Aberdeen, its warmest day of the year.
- Wales recorded its hottest May day, with 32.2°C at Hawarden Airport.
France
- France recorded its highest-ever "national temperature indicator," reaching 30°C. The average temperature on June 25-26 was 29.9°C.
- Multiple cities, including Bordeaux and Poitiers, broke local temperature records. Bordeaux reached 41.9°C, and Poitiers 41.2°C.
- A temperature of 44.3°C was recorded in a town in the southwest.
Germany
- Germany set a new national temperature record of 41.7°C on June 28 at Neißemünde-Coschen station in Brandenburg.
- The overnight low of 29.4°C on June 27-28 in Kubschütz, Saxony, was the warmest night on record.
- The national record was broken on three consecutive days, with highs of 41.3°C on June 27 and 41.5°C on June 28.
Spain
- Mainland Spain recorded its highest daily average June temperatures since 1950. Seville reached 38°C; parts of the south were forecast to reach 44°C.
- A temperature of 45.1°C was recorded in Andújar.
Other Countries
- Denmark: Recorded its hottest day since records began in 1874, with 37°C in Ødum, north of Aarhus.
- Czech Republic: Recorded its highest temperature ever, 41.1°C, in Doksany, north of Prague.
- Switzerland: Recorded its highest June temperature, 38.8°C, in Basel.
- Luxembourg: Recorded its highest June temperature of 38.3°C in Wormeldingen.
- Belgium: Recorded a record June temperature of 33.2°C in Uccle, Brussels.
Health Impacts and Official Alerts
Heat Alerts
- The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued amber heat health alerts for East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, and South East. The Met Office issued a red "extreme heat" warning for parts of central and south England on June 22-23, warning of danger to life.
- France placed 58 of its 96 mainland departments under a "red alert" for extreme heat. More than 90% of the population was under an extreme heat alert.
- Germany issued near-nationwide heat alerts.
- Spain issued red and orange alerts for several regions.
- The Netherlands issued its first-ever red heat alert for extreme heat.
- Italy issued its highest-level "red flag" heat alerts for cities including Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence, Bologna, and Turin.
Fatalities
The WHO Europe Office reported over 1,300 excess deaths since June 21, linked to high temperatures across Europe.
- France: Approximately 55 drownings were reported since June 18. Two children aged 2 and 4 were found dead in a car in Carpentras, southern France. Three people aged 80 to 95 died in the Bordeaux region due to heat-related health issues. France's public health agency reported at least 1,000 additional deaths during the three peak days (June 25-27), mostly in people aged 65 and over.
- Spain: The MoMo mortality monitoring system reported 212 deaths between Sunday and Wednesday potentially linked to the heat.
- United Kingdom: Four fatalities were reported, including a 60-year-old man in southwest England and teenagers who drowned.
- Germany: A 23-year-old man drowned in a lake near Rheinstetten; three others went missing in the Rhine.
School and Event Closures
- France: Approximately 2,700 French schools were ordered to close or alter their schedules. In England, more than 1,000 schools closed.
- The nationwide Fête de la Musique festival faced health concerns; many towns imposed alcohol restrictions. The Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum in Paris closed early on June 21.
- The Netherlands cancelled the Defqon.1 electronic music festival for the rest of the weekend due to a red extreme heat alert.
- Spain's Basque Country suspended outdoor sports and cultural activities.
Infrastructure and Transport Disruptions
- France: State rail operator SNCF cancelled 71 intercity trains; 3,500 staff were mobilized to monitor the network. A transformer failure in northwestern France left approximately 68,000 households without electricity.
- United Kingdom: A "do not travel" advisory was issued for the East Coast main line. Eurostar cancelled four London-Paris trains. The London Ambulance Service recorded a record 642 Category 1 emergency calls on June 25.
- Germany: Highway concrete ruptured due to heat, leading to closure of the A2 near Berlin. Deutsche Bahn advised against nonessential train travel.
- French nuclear output was reduced by 4.1 GW due to high temperatures affecting cooling water access.
- Switzerland: The Beznau nuclear power plant took both reactors offline after the River Aare reached 25°C, considered too warm for sufficient cooling.
Weather Pattern and Attribution
- Mechanism: The heatwave was driven by an "Omega block" weather pattern, which trapped hot air from North Africa over western and central Europe for an extended period, creating a "heat dome."
- Climate Change Attribution:
- The World Weather Attribution (WWA) group found that the record-breaking heat and humidity would not have occurred without human-caused climate change.
- The WWA study stated the heatwave is now about 200 times more likely than in the climate of 2003 and would have been virtually impossible in the climate of 1976.
- The study found daytime temperatures were approximately 3.5°C higher than in a 1976 climate scenario and 2°C higher than in a 2003 scenario.
- El Niño: The emerging El Niño warming cycle was noted but did not influence this specific heatwave, according to the WWA.