Europe struggled to cope with a record-breaking heatwave this week, with at least 94mn people expected to experience temperatures above 35C, most of them in France and Spain. Estimates based on analysis of forecasts from the German weather service and 2025 population projections from Europe’s Joint Research Centre suggest maximum temperatures will surpass 30C for over 350mn people -- more than two-thirds of the continent’s population.
The effects of the extreme weather, with temperatures hotter than parts of east and west Africa, have been made worse by buildings and infrastructure not designed to cope with high temperatures, and is being driven by atmospheric patterns trapping hot air.
But a scientific study published this week said the current heatwave was “significantly exacerbated by human-induced climate change”, without which the current temperatures would have been 2-4C cooler.
The World Health Organization’s head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the heatwave, which has also increased air pollution, was putting the health of Europeans at risk and urged leaders to invest in making their health services more climate-resilient. The head of the UN’s IPCC climate experts panel, Jim Skea, said the current temperatures were above some scientific projections, and warned that the continent would inevitably face more extremes as the planet warms.
Around 44mn of the nearly 67mn people in France are currently under the highest red alert level for heat, according to an AFP estimate. France on Wednesday experienced its hottest day since measurements began in 1947, the national weather agency said, breaking a record set just a day earlier.
The national temperature indicator — an average of daytime and nighttime temperatures across 30 stations — reached 30C, Meteo-France said, citing provisional data.
Meanwhile, Britain recorded its hottest ever June temperature on Wednesday with the mercury rising to 36.1C in southern England, breaking the previous record of 35.6C set in 1976. Spain also broke its June heat record, according to the Aemet weather agency, with an average temperature of 28.17C on Tuesday.
Conditions at many schools, offices and factories across the continent have become unbearable as temperatures rise, forcing early closures and employees to work from home.
“I’m practically swimming in my own sweat, which is not pleasant,” 25-year-old decorator Aaron Timothy told AFP in London while cooling off in the shade.
In Italy, where 16 cities are under red alert, the advocacy group Greenpeace said it had detected surface temperatures of 80C in the heavily asphalted area around Rome’s Termini railway station.
Despite restrictions for outdoor workers, the area was still buzzing with delivery riders, many of whom are self-employed, who said they had to work to survive.
“The climate crisis is impacting above all the most vulnerable people in the population — the people who need to work, who have to work,” said Greenpeace campaigner Simona Abbate.
Power outages have been reported in France, including in the northwest department of Finistere, where high temperatures knocked out a transformer late on Tuesday, leaving about 68,000 households without electricity.
In Britain, electricity grid operator Neso warned that supply could be squeezed due to pressure on the system. Sales of fans and air conditioners have skyrocketed as people try to keep cool.
June is a key month for tourism in Europe but popular landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and Louvre museum in Paris, and the stainless steel Atomium in Brussels, have been shutting early because of the heat.