Europe on high alert as killer heat spreads

Two girls jump in a canal to cool off during a heatwave in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

PARIS/AMSTERDAM/BERLIN -- Health authorities across Europe were on high alert on Friday as a killer heatwave progressed across the continent, prompting alcohol bans in France and cracking road surfaces open in Germany.

From Britain and France to Germany, Italy, Austria and Serbia, Europe sizzled under a record-breaking ball of heat rolling across the region. Scientists said the heatwave was the worst recorded for Europe, where the climate is changing faster than anywhere else.

Temperatures were probably past their peak in France and Britain, where records for June have been broken. But in Italy, the heat was expected to intensify into the weekend, bringing the summer’s first readings of 40 C (104 F)

At least 55 deaths linked to the heatwave have been reported in France, where temperatures in Paris hit 40.9 C on Wednesday. Even though temperatures were expected to ease, authorities braced for more casualties.

Across the continent, cultural landmarks have been forced to close, and farming has suffered. Paris police asked organizers of major events, including the Solidays music festival, to cancel them. Organizers of the Pride festival said they would reschedule.

England and Netherlands at code red

Extreme heat caused the surface of the A2 motorway in eastern Germany to buckle and rupture over several lanes on Thursday evening, according to the BZ newspaper, damaging up to 30 vehicles, leaving two people with minor injuries and forcing the highway to be closed.

Britain’s Met Office extended a red heat alert into Friday for a large area of southern England, the first time such warnings have been issued for three consecutive days.

A rare ‘code red’ alert for extreme heat was issued for almost the whole of the Netherlands and many schools were closed as temperatures up to 40 C were expected.

In Serbia, authorities issued an amber alert, with temperatures of around 36 C expected. Officials in Belgrade warned people to drink and stay indoors during the hottest hours.

Fans flew off the shelves in Britain and Asian air conditioning manufacturers reported a European sales boom. In France, the state-owned power utility EDF pledged to spend €80 million (US$90 million) on cooling systems for schools, kindergartens and day-care centers.

According to the most recent data from the OECD-affiliated International Energy Agency (IEA), issued in July 2025, household ownership of air conditioning in Europe remains relatively low, at around 20%.

‘Omega block’ heat bulge over Europe

The heatwave, which has pushed temperatures as much as 18 C above their seasonal average, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor, is being driven by ​a weather pattern known as an Omega block.

This traps a bulging ball of hot air over regions for extended periods, with cooler weather on its fringes.

Scientists said the record-breaking heatwave would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, which has made this week’s stiflingly hot night-time temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been even two decades ago.

“Over the region studied, this heatwave is the most severe ever recorded,” the World Weather Attribution group of climate scientists said in their latest analysis.

‘Apocalyptic’ for health workers

French authorities announced a ban on drinking alcohol in public on Friday, when France were due to play Norway in Boston in the soccer World Cup.

French doctors and hospital workers reported an increase in emergency calls and treatment.

Wilfrid Samut, spokesperson for the Association of Emergency Room Doctors of France, said hospitals were ill prepared for the heatwave.

“The impact on the mental health of health-care workers is enormous,” he said. “It’s apocalyptic.”

Reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro, Inti Landauro, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Makini Brice, Nicolas Delame, Friederike Heine, Giselda Vagnoni and Bart Meijer; Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Kevin Liffey, Reuters