Record heat grips Europe; disrupts travel and healthcare
A relentless heatwave swept across Europe, breaking temperature records in several countries, disrupting transport, straining hospitals and triggering health alerts. Scientists said the extreme conditions were intensified by climate change, with authorities warning of further risks as the scorching weather spread eastward
Berlin: Temperatures soared to record highs from Switzerland to the Czech Republic and Denmark on Saturday, as a heat wave that baked western European countries this week moved to central and eastern parts of the continent.
Unusually high temperatures were recorded even in the Nordic countries not known for sweltering summers. Denmark’s Meteorological Institute reported a record 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Odum north of Aarhus – the warmest day since records there began in 1874.
In Switzerland, a record 38.8 C (101.8 F) was set in the city of Basel.
Germany’s famous Autobahn was overwhelmed, too, as temperatures were expected to hit 40 C (104 F). In two places outside Berlin, the concrete of the A2 burst due to the high temperatures and the highway had to be closed. Other highway damage was reported across the country, according to the German daily Bild.
Train operator Deutsche Bahn and other rail companies advised against all nonessential train travel this weekend.
“Germany’s transportation infrastructure is being severely affected by the record-breaking heat this weekend,” Deutsche Bahn said in a statement.
The Czech Republic also saw its hottest day on record, with 40.8 C (105.4 F) in the northern town of Doksany. Forecasters said it may still rise.
Residents evacuated from German nursing home
In the western German city of Dormagen, dozens of residents of a nursing home were evacuated for medical care due to dangerous heat conditions in the building.
The local fire department reported that temperatures inside the home had reached 35 C (95 F). Air conditioning is not widespread in Germany and many countries in Europe because the continent is largely unused to such oppressive heat.
A resident at the home died overnight, but it was not yet clear whether the heat was the cause, a city spokesperson told German news agency dpa.
Hospitals under intense pressure in France
In France, multiple towns in the east of the country saw their highest-ever temperatures Saturday, with some above 40 C (104 F) even though the worst of the heat wave was starting to pass in some regions.
Paris and 36 other regions, stretching from the centre to the east and northeast, remained in the extreme-heat red zone on Saturday, down from a peak on Thursday of 72 regions that were under such warnings.
The capital continued to see unrelenting pressure on its hospitals, with a second consecutive day of nearly 3,000 people seeking care in public hospital emergency rooms, about a third more than normal.
The Paris public hospital authority, AP-HP, said it activated its emergency response plan across all 38 hospitals to cope. Phone calls to its medical dispatch centres were up nearly 80 per cent compared with the same period in 2025, it said.
Concerns that hospitals could be overwhelmed prompted the postponement of the Paris Pride march for LGBTQ+ rights on Saturday, and a three-day music festival was cancelled.
The temperatures this week have been higher than those during a historic 2003 heat wave that was blamed for 15,000 heat-related deaths, many of them older people. The AP-HP’s director, Nicolas Revel, said he doesn’t expect as many deaths this time, at least in Paris hospitals, in part because treatment for overheating has since improved.
During another exceptionally hot summer last year, more than 5,700 deaths were attributed to heat, according to France’s public health authority.
“I think we’ll be situated, clearly, between 2025 and without necessarily reaching the catastrophic level of 2003. But we have to expect that there will still be many deaths,” he said.
UK temperatures easing after 3 record heat days
In the UK, sweltering conditions are expected to gradually ease this weekend though an amber warning – one step down from red – remained in place until Saturday night.
Britons struggled to cope this week as the record June temperature was smashed three days in a row. Friday was confirmed as the country’s hottest June day on record, with a provisional temperature of 37.3 C (99 F) recorded in eastern England.
It was more than 1 C hotter than the long-standing record for June heat in the UK, set in the summer of 1976.
On Saturday, police said the bodies of a 22-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy were recovered from a lake and a river. The deaths bring the total number of UK heat-related fatalities this week to four.
Authorities in the UK have warned people to take extra care when swimming in unsupervised areas following the deaths of around 40 people in France over the past week.
Tourists wilting in Rome as red heat alert remains active
In Italy’s capital, which remains under a red heat alert, tourists tried to cool off seeking shade near buildings and dunking their heads under public fountains. Street vendors were doing a brisk business selling bottled water, hats and sun umbrellas.
Some turned to Italian classics for relief.
“Gelato, pasta, because it’s tradition, but also fresh fruit, and ice cold drinks, that’s the best for this temperature,” said Isabella Dold, a tourist from Kempten, Germany.
On Saturday, Italy’s health ministry said 18 cities – including the most popular tourism hubs like Venice, Florence, Bologna and Milan – were on red alert due to danger posed by the high temperatures.
Focus on climate change
A new study from the World Weather Attribution, a Europe-based collaboration of scientists, reported Friday that the record-breaking heat and humidity in Europe this week would not have been possible without climate change.
The rapid study found that the heat would have been virtually impossible just five decades ago, and is 200 times more likely today than it would have been 20 years ago.
Andre Correa do Lago, the president of the UN climate talks known as COP30, said the heat wave has “helped strengthen the perception of urgency of fighting climate change.” “The fact that we are living with this amazing heat in London is a strong argument, we need to agree, that we have to take action as soon as possible,” do Lago told The Associated Press.
