Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
A vicious heatwave has engulfed southern Europe, with punishing temperatures that have reached highs of 46C (114.8F) in Spain and placed almost the entirety of mainland France under alert.
Extreme heat, made stronger by fossil fuel pollution, has for several days scorched Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece as southern Europe endures its first major heatwave of the summer.
The high temperatures have prompted the authorities in several countries to issue new health warnings and scramble firefighters to prevent wildfires from breaking out.
We also covered why Spanish street thermometers don’t always show the actual temperature (14:56), what Spanish rail operators do to help passengers in this heat (14:29), and admired Neil’s pig Nina as it bathed to beat the heat this morning (14:08).
Elsewhere,
A former senior official in Spain’s ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) has been remanded in custody by a supreme court judge investigating corruption allegations that have put the country’s centre-left government under unprecedented pressure (16:58).
Germany’s defence minister said the country would send navy ships to patrol Arctic waters, citing the threat from a Russian military build-up in the region, AFP reported (16:46).
EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said on Monday he will fly to Washington on Tuesday for trade talks with the US administration. Šefčovič spoke after announcing the EU had agreed a new long-term trade deal with Ukraine (16:31).
The Kremlin accused the organisers of anti-government protests in Serbia, a close Russian ally, for staging an attempted “colour revolution,” after 140,000 protests rallied in Belgrade demanding early election (16:15).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Your experiences of European heatwave
Let’s take another look at your emails about the heatwave (thanks for so many of them!).
Tim says he is on holiday in Portugal and on a train from Lisbon to Faro with his wife.
“It’s 39 outside and the train has NO AIR CON! … ridiculous and obviously dangerous. Only two and a half hours left,” he says.
Archie in Lisbon reports similar struggles with his partner and their nine-month-old puppy, Albi.
“It has been ferociously hot over the last couple of days and many people (including us) don’t have AC units at home so it becomes quite difficult to function.”
He says that “last night the temperature didn’t fall below 31 here and there was little to no breeze so the apartment started off with a temperature of 34 degrees at 7 am.
“On the plus side, I’ve learned to make Gazpacho,” he says, adding a picture of the said puppy, Albi, “reluctantly wearing a damp tea towel” (cute!).
Emma is north of Catalonia and says she just spends “as much time indoors as possible but I see people who have to work outdoors or don’t have the means to cool their homes sufficiently.”
“I live and work in the countryside and it’s immensely sad to see nature having to deal with these atypical temperatures: bird chicks prematurely fledging because their nests are like ovens, animals having to travel many more kilometres to find water sources; trees that are stressed and flowers needed by pollinating insects already dried up.
Heartbreaking all round.”
Faith emails in to say it’s “insanely hot in the Corbières (max 39 today at 4pm rising to max 40 tomorrow … argh!)” and there is “none of the usual tramontane wind to cool us down.”
But the local council has “thoughtfully opened its air-conditioned council chamber to any locals seeking refuge from the heat – a wonderfully considerate gesture!”
LN is also in France, reporting “outside temps locally are 38C and climbing; tomorrow is forecast to be 39C, but given how we’ve exceeded the predictions recently, we’re expecting 41C”
“The fact that this is happening and it’s only June terrifies me as does the fact that every day, the forecast pushes the heat to one day more and even after it breaks, we’re apparently only in for a few ‘normal’ days before it starts climbing again.”
Gayle is in Andalusia and says he is just “sitting at home in my underwear, not a pretty sight” when it’s 39C outside.
“On ecological grounds we do not have air conditioning, only ceiling or electric fans. … It saps energy …”
But looking for positives, he adds:
“But on the upside as pensioners we have to do bugger all.”
Bastian in Vienna is getting ready for what’s about to hit central Europe in the next few days.
“Here in Vienna, we’ve been coping for weeks with temperatures above 30C. On Thursday, we are expecting temperatures above 38C.
This is the new normal in Vienna between June and September.
Unfortunately, most people in Austria are not prepared for this heat, unlike in Spain or southern France. Most people don’t own an AC. Vienna is very ‘concrety’ and there are not many places to cool down.”
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