Closing summary
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Teachers in France are risking their own and students’ health in overheated schools as a severe heatwave sets new record temperatures, education unions said, urging staff to strike over “unacceptable working conditions”. Several teaching unions on Thursday issued a joint statement denouncing a “blatant lack of preparation” by the government, after teachers have had to work in classrooms where temperatures reached up to 40C.
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The UK’s new provisional high of 36.4C (97.5F), recorded in Yeovilton, Somerset, surpassed Wednesday’s June record of 36.1C in Gosport, Hampshire, which had beaten the previous peak of 35.6C set in Southampton in 1976.
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The Netherlands issued its first-ever red alert for heat for Friday, warning of “dangerous” conditions as a record-setting heatwave scorched Europe. The national weather institute issued the alert for much of the country, where temperatures are forecast to reach 40C in some places.
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Switzerland registered its hottest ever June temperature on Thursday, with 38C measured in the northern city of Basel, breaking a previous record of 36.9C set eight decades ago, the Swiss weather service said. “Temperatures exceeded 37C for the first time in Switzerland during the month of June, breaking a record set in 1947,” MeteoSuisse said on X, adding that “a temperature of 38C was even recorded at the Basel weather station”.
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France’s main energy provider Thursday shut down two nuclear reactors as an environmental protection measure to avoid discharging too much hot water into rivers already warming in a record-breaking heatwave, AFP reported. Power plants critical to the country’s electricity production use river water to cool their reactors, which heats the water that is then released back into the river.
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In France, a three-year-old has died after finding himself trapped in a car in the Paris region in extreme heat, a prosecutor said, the third such fatality this week, AFP reported. The boy had slipped into the family car while his father thought he was napping, then found himself unable to get out with the child lock in the town of Saint-Gratien, the prosecutor said, after a police source and civil defence also reported the death.
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A heatwave sweeping Europe was starting to peak in Germany on Thursday, with several open-air events cancelled and temperatures expected to top 40C through the weekend, AFP reported. Large parts of the country are already under “severe to extreme heat stress” with temperatures soaring to around 37C, the German Weather Service (DWD) said.
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Italy’s latest heatwave has claimed five lives in less than 24 hours, as temperatures climbed to 41C across much of the country. After a 57-year-old man died while working in a field near Lodi, outside Milan, on Tuesday, four more deaths were reported on Wednesday.
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Over the past four days 212 people have died prematurely in Spain as a result of the heatwave, according to scientists using a system for monitoring mortality. As temperatures rise to 42C in some regions, often not falling below 30C at night, the June heatwave is breaking records that were set this time last year, making it the hottest June since 1950.
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In Germany, the country’s rail operator Deutsche Bahn, or DB, offered passengers booked for this weekend an option to cancel their ticket free of charge. The option is available to all passengers who booked their tickets before 23 June, and were due to travel between today and 30 June.
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The heatwave continues to disrupt the British education system with University College London, one of the UK’s largest universities, cancelling its student open days planned for Friday and Saturday, relieving thousands of prospective undergraduates and parents from travelling to central London.
Unions urge teachers to strike as French school exams go ahead in up to 40C heat
Teachers in France are risking their own and students’ health in overheated schools as a severe heatwave sets new record temperatures, education unions said, urging staff to strike over “unacceptable working conditions”.
Several teaching unions on Thursday issued a joint statement denouncing a “blatant lack of preparation” by the government, after teachers have had to work in classrooms where temperatures reached up to 40C.
“The health of staff and pupils is being put at risk,” unions said, suggesting staff strike individually wherever and whenever they felt it necessary.
Most of France is under red alert, and the heatwave is expected to reach its peak on Thursday. Authorities closed 3,500 schools considered too dangerously hot and reduced hours at a further 10,000.
Most French school buildings – and their exposed playgrounds – were not designed for extreme temperatures. Many buildings are not properly insulated and most lack air-conditioning. Many schools were designed with large windows and no external shutters, causing classroom temperatures to soar above 30C or even 40C.
In some nursery and primary schools, teachers have had to keep curtains closed and spray children with water to try to cool them.
Netherlands issues first ever red alert over heat
The Netherlands issued its first-ever red alert for heat for Friday, warning of “dangerous” conditions as a record-setting heatwave scorched Europe.
The national weather institute issued the alert for much of the country, where temperatures are forecast to reach 40C in some places.
Here is a graphic that shows the projected proportion of working hours lost to heat stress by sector, across the world, for 2030:
Switzerland registered its hottest ever June temperature on Thursday, with 38C measured in the northern city of Basel, breaking a previous record of 36.9C set eight decades ago, the Swiss weather service said.
“Temperatures exceeded 37C for the first time in Switzerland during the month of June, breaking a record set in 1947,” MeteoSuisse said on X, adding that “a temperature of 38C was even recorded at the Basel weather station”.
Europeans grapple with scorching June heatwave – video
As western Europe bakes under what scientists describe as a heat dome, or ‘atmospheric lid’, residents across the continent are grappling with extreme temperatures caused by climate breakdown.
New UK June record could be exceeded again in coming hours, expert says
The Met Office said the new record for the hottest June day could be exceeded again in the coming hours, PA reported.
Greg Wolverson, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office said:
“We’ve seen a new provisional June maximum temperature record for a second consecutive day as the heatwave continues.
This marks unprecedented heat for the month of June and provides further evidence of how high temperature extremes are becoming increasingly common in the UK as a result of human-induced climate change.
There’s a chance of this record being challenged again as the warmth moves more markedly east on Friday, before a gradual easing in temperatures through the weekend.”
French struggle with heat-trap homes as climate inequality grows
Living in a sweltering, seventh-floor flat on a concrete housing estate south of Paris, Samira said she was feeling desperate as France experienced its highest temperatures on record this week.
“Yesterday I sat down and cried, I thought I’m going to die,” said the 35-year-old single parent and former building caretaker.
Her flat in Ris-Orangis in Essonne is, like millions of apartments in France, poorly insulated and lacking in outside window shutters. “Blazing sun hits my windows all day – I can’t breathe, I feel dizzy, there is no air,” she said.
More than 44 million people in France, out of a total population of 67 million, have been under the highest red alert for heat this week, with daytime temperatures exceeding 40C in many places and staying dangerously hot at night.
London Ambulance Service responds to highest ever ife-threatening emergencies as heatwave continues
Health editor
London Ambulance Service has responded to its highest ever number of life-threatening emergencies in a single day amid soaring temperatures in the capital, senior officials said on Thursday.
Ambulance crews attended 642 Category 1 calls on Wednesday, according to LAS. Category 1 incidents include the most serious, life-threatening injuries and illnesses, such as cardiac arrests and patients who are not breathing.
“We have seen the highest number of life-threatening emergencies in our history, driven by the extreme heat across London,” said LAS chief executive Jason Killens.
Wednesday was also the fifth busiest day in the service’s history overall, with 7,900 calls and crews responding to almost 3,600 patients.
The surge in calls this week is directly linked to the hot weather, with crews responding to more people who are fainting, struggling to breathe or experiencing heart problems, senior officials said.
UK's hottest June day on record - in pictures
UK sets new record for the hottest June day
The Met Office has just confirmed that temperatures have reached 36.4C at Yeovilton in Somerset, provisionally making it the hottest June day ever recorded.
It surpassed the previous record of 36.1C set, erm, yesterday, and the previous record of 35.9C from 1976.
Updated
Hospitals in England declare critical incidents as machines and IT fail in heat
Health editor
Doctors have sounded the alarm over the disastrous impact of extreme heat on the NHS in England, with radiotherapy machines and MRI scanners failing, critical IT systems stalling and cooling units that serve entire hospitals breaking down.
The hot weather has also prompted a surge in admissions and people arriving at A&E, causing severe overcrowding in some places and exacerbating heat-related pressures on infrastructure.
“Lots of people, especially older patients, are turning up having collapsed or with dehydration,” one physician said. “In terms of inpatients, the conditions are awful due to overcrowding. Very few places have air conditioning and staff are really struggling.”
Older patients in one geriatric ward had been forced to endure temperatures as high as 35C, a second doctor said. Even wards with built-in air conditioning were affected, as some units were shut down to prevent them being damaged by the extreme heat.
Another doctor said their workplace was “unfit to cope”, with patients and staff experiencing “awful conditions” in sweltering wards, clinics and corridors. NHS staff were also navigating the challenge of providing care while sleep-deprived. Like much of the UK population, many have struggled to sleep this week.
Several NHS trusts in England have declared critical incidents as a direct result of the extreme heat. One hospital had done so after its machines failed in multiple areas, a doctor said. Labs used for testing were also affected and two linear accelerator machines, used to treat cancer patients, had stopped working amid the high temperatures.
Key event
Let’s take a quick view at the latest temperature readings from across Europe at 3pm continental, 2pm UK.
Paris 40C
Nantes 40C
Brussels 36C
Barcelona 35C
Frankfurt 35C
Geneva 35C
Berlin 34C
Prague 34C
Budapest 33C
Vienna 33C
London 32C
France shuts down two nuclear reactors in heatwave precaution
France’s main energy provider Thursday shut down two nuclear reactors as an environmental protection measure to avoid discharging too much hot water into rivers already warming in a record-breaking heatwave, AFP reported.
Power plants critical to the country’s electricity production use river water to cool their reactors, which heats the water that is then released back into the river.
The EDF energy group on Thursday said it had temporarily shut down two reactors to comply with temperature limits of the rivers at the Nogent-sur-Seine power plant on the Seine river in northern France, and in Bugey on the Rhone near the southeastern city on Lyon.
AFP noted that the Nogent-sur-Seine plant had already reduced production in another reactor days earlier “to limit the temperature increase between the water withdrawn from the Seine and the water discharged back into it, thereby protecting aquatic plant and animal life”.
UK lawyers raise concerns about immigration detainees being held in breach of temperature laws
Over in the UK, thousands of immigration detainees are being held behind bars by the Home Office in temperatures up to ten degrees hotter than the maximum permitted. Lawyers are calling on the Home Office to release their clients because of the breach.
According to government rules for these centres “the maximum permitted temperature must not exceed 28 degrees C”. Lawyers are writing to government officials highlighting the fact that temperatures in cells are exceeding the permitted maximum.
One detainee told the Guardian:
“It is unbearably hot in our cells. It is too hot to even wear any clothes. But because we are locked up there’s nothing we can do to cool down.”
Home Office sources said that specialist assessments of options to reduce temperatures were being carried out.
A Home Office spokesperson said:
“We take the welfare of those in our care extremely seriously, and our teams are responding to mitigate the impact of recent high temperatures on Immigration Removal Centres.
Robust measures are in place to support residents, including access to bottled water, summer clothing, sun cream and fully stocked first-aid kits.”
HMIP is about to embark on a full inspection of one of the immigration detention centres, Tinsley House near Gatwick Airport.
A spokesperson said: ”Accommodation for detainees should be suitably ventilated. Although the current weather is unprecedented, heat waves are not uncommon. We expect the Home Office and its contractors to prepare for contingencies such as this, to keep detainees and staff safe.”
Updated
Extreme temperatures 'no longer future threat, but present danger,' London mayor warns
Environment editor
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, launched the city’s first heat plan on Thursday.
”Extreme temperatures are no longer a future threat, they are a present danger,” he said. The plan includes retrofitting homes at the highest risk of overheating, more tree cover, and safe access to water for paddling and swimming. A 2025 study found the number of UK homes reporting overheating in summer quadrupled to 80% in a decade.
Measurements taken by Greenpeace found pavements, rail platforms, building sites and other places across London reached surface temperatures of 50C to 60C on Wednesday. The black rubber floor of a playground in Islington was recorded at 53C at 5pm.
“This record-smashing heatwave has turned London into a sticky, sizzling cauldron,” said Mel Evans, Greenpeace UK’s head of climate.
“This isn’t just weather – it’s a public health emergency driven by fossil fuel giants. These abnormal temperatures are stretching homes, schools, transport and our own health to breaking point.”
UK's high temperature record for June likely to be broken again today, a day after the previous record
Environment editor
The UK’s high temperature record for June is also likely to be broken on Thursday, just a day after the previous record.
The heatwave, supercharged by the climate crisis, drove the temperature to 36.1C at Gosport in Hampshire on Wednesday, beating the previous record of 35.6C set in Southampton in 1976.
Heatwaves are now more severe and more likely because of the carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels, with scientists estimating the current extreme temperatures across Europe are between 2C and 4C higher as a result.
Many thousands of people are likely to have died prematurely in the heat, but the statistical analysis required to determine the number takes time to complete. The UK Health Security Agency found that more than 10,000 people died in Britain owing to summer heatwaves between 2020 and 2024.
Updated
Three-year-old found dead in car during France heatwave
Over in France, a three-year-old has died after finding himself trapped in a car in the Paris region in extreme heat, a prosecutor said, the third such fatality this week, AFP reported.
The boy had slipped into the family car while his father thought he was napping, then found himself unable to get out with the child lock in the town of Saint-Gratien, the prosecutor said, after a police source and civil defence also reported the death.
The mother was having a nap with the couple’s second child, an 18-month-old, while the father was working in a shed in the garden, he said, citing initial findings.
UK's Starmer says government has been holding official-level Cobra meetings on heatwave
Over in the UK, the outgoing prime minister Keir Starmer said that officials have been meeting in the government’s Cobra emergency committee to discuss how schools and other public services deal with the heatwave.
Asked specifically about schools, he said:
It is very hot and obviously schools will have to take the appropriate measures and each school will gauge for itself what the measures are.
But it is important that we as a government coordinate this across the country and with all of the countries within the United Kingdom, which is what we’re doing.
We’re having Cobra meetings at the official level to monitor what’s going on, give the appropriate advice.
But obviously it falls to me and others to say take care, be sensible with precautions.
And schools are going to have to decide, and they are deciding. most of them finishing a little bit early, or many of them. But they will gauge that according to their local conditions.
Cobra is the government’s emergency committee. Cobra meetings led by officials are not as serious as those led by ministers.
Updated
Germany set to see temperatures above 40C this weekend and 'extreme' heat stress
A heatwave sweeping Europe was starting to peak in Germany on Thursday, with several open-air events cancelled and temperatures expected to top 40C through the weekend, AFP reported.
Large parts of the country are already under “severe to extreme heat stress” with temperatures soaring to around 37C, the German Weather Service (DWD) said.
AFP said that several open-air sports events have been cancelled, including a half-marathon in Hamburg where authorities cited the risk of “an increased demand for emergency and rescue services”.
As we reported earlier, step, rail operator Deutsche Bahn warned customers to avoid travel and said it would refund any tickets in the next few days (11:26).
The mercury will rise further in Germany starting Friday and on Saturday, when almost the entire country is forecast to bake under temperatures of 35 to 41C.
Experts say the current German record for June of 39.6C, recorded in 2019 in Saxony-Anhalt state, could easily be broken over the weekend.
Germany’s overall temperature record is 41.2C, recorded on 25 July 2019.
Five deaths reported in last 24 hours in Italy as temperatures cross into 40s
in Palermo, Italy
Italy’s latest heatwave has claimed five lives in less than 24 hours, as temperatures climbed to 41C across much of the country.
After a 57-year-old man died while working in a field near Lodi, outside Milan, on Tuesday, four more deaths were reported on Wednesday: a 61-year-old vineyard worker in the Piacenza area; a 56-year-old man who suffered a fatal medical emergency while visiting his parents’ grave at a cemetery in Garlasco; a homeless man found dead in a square in Naples; and a worker who collapsed while carrying out maintenance on a water infrastructure site in the Padua area.
The extreme heat has also exposed the strain on Italy’s electricity grid. Repeated power cuts have disrupted air conditioning systems in several major cities, including Florence’s Uffizi Galleries on Wednesday, according to RAI. Museum authorities were forced to limit visitor numbers and temporarily suspend ticket sales as cooling systems struggled to cope.
The current spell of extreme temperatures, the second major heatwave to hit Italy this year as much of Europe swelters, is expected to peak between the weekend and Monday. At least 18 Italian cities have been placed on the highest heat alert. Several regional governments have banned outdoor work during the hottest hours of the day for construction workers and delivery riders, although some workers have protested, saying the restrictions threaten their already precarious incomes.
Italy’s main trade unions have called on the government to draw on emergency contingency funds to compensate workers forced to stop because of the heat. They argue that employees whose jobs expose them to life-threatening temperatures should not have to choose between protecting their health and losing their wages.
212 deaths reported in Spain as heatwave breaks June temperature records
in Spain
Over the past four days 212 people have died prematurely in Spain as a result of the heatwave, according to scientists using a system for monitoring mortality.
As temperatures rise to 42C in some regions, often not falling below 30C at night, the June heatwave is breaking records that were set this time last year, making it the hottest June since 1950.
According to the meteorological office, between 1975 and 2000 there were two heatwaves in June compared to 10 in the ensuing 25 years.
For Spain overall, there were 129 days of heatwave from 1975-2000 and 329 days since the turn of the century.
Some of the highest temperatures this week have been recorded in the normally cooler north, especially Cantabria and Vizcaya, with Bilbao recording a high of 40ºC yesterday.
Heatwave creates perfect conditions for surge in mosquitoes, expert warns
As if the heat was not enough, it now looks like current UK weather conditions are perfect for a surge in mosquitoes, leading to bites, an expert has warned.
Those capable of carrying nasty illnesses, such as dengue fever and Zika, could also take hold in the UK in the coming years due to climate change, according to Dr Mojca Kristan, assistant professor in medical entomology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) told PA news agency.
She said:
“Weather conditions in the UK at the moment are perfect for mosquitoes. They like warmth as well as standing water to lay their eggs in.
May was too dry, but we’ve had rain in June so there’s water around and, as the weather continues to warm up, I would expect mosquitoes to emerge and start biting to get the blood they need to breed.”
She suggested people could take precautions to ensure they are not bitten.
“To protect yourself from bites, wear insect repellent and cover your skin with long sleeves, plus wear socks in the evening as mosquitoes like biting around ankles,” she said.
Government urged to refurbish schools to respond to risks of extreme heat events
Education editor
Meanwhile, England’s government has been warned it will take until the year 2246 for the country’s 22,000 state schools and colleges to be refurbished to cope with the climate crisis at current rates of progress.
In a letter to the Department for Education, the general secretary of the National Education Union, Daniel Kebede, said this week’s widespread schools closures in the south of England shows the need for urgent action.
Kebede said:
“Air conditioning now needs to be rolled out to schools to deal with the health risks associated with extreme heat events. We would urge you to set out a timetable for ensuring that schools have this protection, prioritising schools with the greatest need.
There has been a welcome increase in expenditure on the school estate through the 2025 spending review. However at the current rate of progress it will take 220 years to refurbish all schools, which is why further investment ... is needed to futureproof the school estate.”
Last year the government announced almost £20bn investment in school rebuilding through to 2035, to overhaul more than 750 schools and sixth-form colleges. It has also opened a new “renewal and retrofit” programme of £710m for schools and colleges to increase resilience to climate change by 2030.
Met Office extended red extreme heat warning into Friday with up to 38C in east, south-east England
The Met Office’s red extreme heat warning has been extended into Friday night.
“The exceptional spell of hot and humid weather will continue across this region, with impacts to the general population highly likely,” it said.
It explained:
“The heatwave which is affecting a large part of England and Wales is set to continue during Friday. The focus of the highest temperatures on Friday is likely to shift towards east and southeastern England, where maximum temperatures in the shade could exceed 36 Celsius, perhaps rising to 38 Celsius in some places. However, following another very warm night, the greatest likelihood of high impacts are expect to be within this Red warning area during Friday.
The heat will be accompanied by high humidity, exacerbating the potential for discomfort and health impacts, with very warm and humid night times also reducing the ability for people to recover overnight.
Significant disruption to daily life is likely and the public should take every effort to make precautions and adapt their daily routines where possible to cope with these levels of heat, which up to now have been extremely rare for the UK.”
The agency also confirmed that the UK record for the highest June minimum temperature has been provisionally broken with 23.5C reported overnight in Bute Park, Cardiff.
Updated
It's not just hot days, but warm nights that pose higher health risk, experts say
European environment correspondent
Hot days can be brutal. But it’s the warm nights some doctors fear most.
Parts of the UK and western Europe have seen consecutive “tropical nights” this week, where overnight temperatures have not fallen below 20C. France broke its record for the hottest night yesterday, which had been set just two nights before.
The body is supposed to recover at night, lowering core temperatures and slowing the heart and lungs. That recovery does not happen when nights are too warm, which means the body remains under strain around the clock, said Armel Castellan, an extreme heat expert at the joint climate and health office of the World Meterological Organisation and the World Health Organization.
“This is why, when assessing the health impact of a heatwave, minimum temperatures can be more telling than the peak afternoon high,” said Castellan.
“A day that reaches 38C but drops to 18C overnight is very different from a day that reaches 36C and stays above 25C through the night. The second scenario carries a much higher health risk.”
As we approach midday in Europe, let’s take a quick look at the latest readings across the continent.
Paris 37C
Frankfurt 34C
Rome 33C
Cologne 32C
Bologna 32C
Munich 32C
Berlin 32C
Brussels 31C
Milan 31C
Prague 30C
In comparison, London looks almost comfy at 28C.
We are still expecting large parts of France to be in high 30s approaching 40, and Germany in mid 30s later today.
UK water operator imposes temporary hosepipe ban amid growing strain from heatwave
Farryn Stock
Over in the UK, South East Water has announced a temporary hosepipe ban in Kent amid growing strain from the ongoing heatwave (31C today, 33C tomorrow).
The water company, who have recently been under public scrutiny over multiple water outages, has asked all customers across Kent to restrict their use of hosepipes and sprinklers with immediate effect.
The restriction comes after a red alert was placed on Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire earlier this week, urging customers to use their water as sparingly as possible as demand increases during record temperatures.
David Hinton, SEW’s outgoing CEO, who stepped down following supply outages, said:
“To safeguard that shared supply and prevent any homes from facing a sudden loss of water, we sadly need to ask our communities to not use their hosepipes immediately. We are deeply sorry for the disruption this causes, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone helping us protect Kent’s water.”
While the temporary ban will not officially come into effect till 00.01 on Friday, the company is asking customers in Kent to respect these restrictions immediately.
France breaks hottest ever night record set earlier this week
Meanwhile, France experienced its hottest night from Wednesday to Thursday since measurements began in 1947, the national weather agency said, breaking a record set, erm, earlier in the week.
The national temperature indicator – an average of daytime and night-time temperatures across 30 stations – reached 22C, Météo-France said, citing provisional data, coming days after a record 21.6C was measured Monday to Tuesday.
Germany's DB gives passengers option to cancel planned rail trips this weekend due to extreme weather
Over in Germany, the country’s rail operator Deutsche Bahn, or DB, offered passengers booked for this weekend an option to cancel their ticket free of charge.
The option is available to all passengers who booked their tickets before 23 June, and were due to travel between today and 30 June.
DB said it was offering this option as a “goodwill gesture” due to “the increasing heat.”
Earlier this week, Germany’s rail network ground to a halt late on Tuesday as a result of maintenance work that went wrong, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers unable to get home as the national operator faced widespread criticism over the chaos.
'This is what climate crisis looks like in practice, and it's just getting started'
Harriet Richards
Assistant environment editor
Simon Stiell, the UN climate chief, warned that “Europe’s savage heatwave has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it” and is “the latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet.”
“Schools closing, the vulnerable dying, economies sweating: this is what the climate crisis looks like in practice, and it’s just getting started.”
He continued:
“Until humanity stops burning colossal amounts of coal, oil and gas, extreme heat will keep getting worse, and other climate impacts – from mega-droughts, floods, wildfires and storms – will keep hammering every economy and population harder each year.
With billions of households, businesses and all economies still feeling the heat of the latest fossil fuel cost chaos, and thousands dying in a single day in some regions as temperatures soar, stronger climate actions can’t wait.The solutions are equally clear: a faster shift to renewables – which are now much cheaper than fossil fuels – as well as protecting forests and boosting climate resilience. Many countries need support to embrace clean energy and protect their peoples. There’s no time to lose.”
Heatwave linked to 212 deaths in Spain, estimates show
A heatwave that has gripped much of Europe and seen temperature records tumble is linkable with 212 deaths in Spain between Sunday and Wednesday, estimated from a public institute showed, AFP reported.
The MoMo monitoring system compiles daily death statistics in Spain and calculates the difference in mortality by comparing them with the levels foreseeable based on historical records.
UK records its hottest June day and France its hottest day ever as heatwave sweeps Europe
Ajit Niranjan and Ashifa Kassam
Heatwaves kill tens of thousands of people across Europe each year and the most scorching extremes have grown hotter, longer and more common as the planet has warmed. Climate breakdown is thought to have increased temperatures by 2C to 4C, according to a rapid analysis published by ClimaMeter on Monday.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, said Europe’s heatwave was “putting lives at risk” on Wednesday. He urged world leaders to invest more in resilient health systems and act faster on the climate emergency.
“The data [is] clear: temperatures across Europe are rising at roughly twice the global average rate, increasing the likelihood and severity of extreme heat in the future,” he said. “We cannot afford further delay.”
101 million Europeans to experience temperatures above 35C today
As the heatwave is set to hit large parts of Germany today, at least 101 million people in Europe are expected to experience temperatures in excess of 35C on Thursday, according to AFP estimates.
That’s a higher number than yesterday’s 94 millions.
Maximum temperatures are expected to surpass 30C for more than 380 million people across Europe excluding Turkey, representing nearly two-thirds of the population, AFP added, according to an analysis based on forecasts from the German weather service and 2025 population projections from the Joint Research Centre.
UK universities cancel student open days due to extreme heat
Education editor
The heatwave continues to disrupt the British education system with University College London, one of the UK’s largest universities, cancelling its student open days planned for Friday and Saturday, relieving thousands of prospective undergraduates and parents from travelling to central London.
UCL said in a statement:
“Please do not travel to campus for these events. We have taken this action with the safety and wellbeing of our visitors, students and staff as our primary consideration, and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
Imperial College London also cancelled its open day today, and has asked students to join an “online open day” instead. King’s College London has confirmed that its open day on Saturday is going ahead.
Open days are a crucial part of UK university recruitment drives, allowing potential students to inspect campus facilities and accommodation as well as meeting faculty and learn about courses on offer.
Paris mayor reports 'increase in mortality' due to heatwave
Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said there had been an “increase in mortality” in the capital owing to the heatwave, without giving any figures, AFP reported.
He said “pretty much all our indicators are in a critical state”, including calls to emergency medical services, calls to the fire brigade, ER admissions, and deaths, he told local TV.
Morning opening: The heatwave continues
Ready for another day of temperatures way above 30C?
The European heatwave of 2026 begins to slowly move eastwards, but things are still going to affect millions of Europeans.
The red extreme heat warning continues in the UK; 72 out of 96 mainland French departments are covered by its French equivalent, as are 17 Italian cities – and these numbers are actually even higher than yesterday.
It’s 33C in Nantes, 31C in Paris and it’s not even 10am local time.
We will see the highs of 39C in Paris, 36C in Germany’s Cologne and Italy’s Bologna, 35C in Belgium’s Brussels, 33C in Berlin, and 31C in London.
And Bratislava, Budapest, Prague, and Warsaw look on, wondering about what is going to happen as the temperatures there are expected to hit, erm, 40C over the weekend and on Monday.
I will bring you all the latest updates on how the continent is (desperately trying) to cope in these temperatures.
You can also tell us how you are doing and what are your strategies for this heat:
It’s Thursday, 25 June 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Updated
