France Mobilizes Emergency Response as Record June Heatwave Sweeps Europe

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will convene a crisis meeting on Tuesday after Météo France confirmed that the nation’s average temperature broke a June record. Across Europe, several countries are grappling with the heatwave, which has caused fatalities and disrupted public services.

The latest heatwave has intensified concerns about climate‑change‑driven extreme weather affecting vulnerable populations, prompting cancellations of outdoor events, transport delays, and school closures.

This follows a previous spell of unseasonable heat just a month earlier that scorched western Europe; scientists warn that increasingly frequent, prolonged, and intense heat episodes are a clear sign of human‑induced global warming.

France set a new June temperature record, with more than 1,350 schools forced to close. Average daytime and nighttime temperatures reached 29.2 °C on Monday, surpassing the previous high from 30 June 2025, according to provisional Météo France data. In the central village of Châteaumeillant, temperatures soared to 43.3 °C.

The heatwave red alert has been expanded to 54 of France’s 96 mainland departments for Tuesday, affecting roughly 39 million people, according to an AFP estimate.

French authorities linked the extreme weather to the deaths of two children, aged two and four, found in a family car parked in a residential lot in the southern town of Carpentras on Monday.

Disruption in France

Lecornu reported on Tuesday that forty people have drowned in France since temperatures rose last Thursday, as he convened ministers for a special meeting.

He described the drownings as a “sad scourge” that chiefly impacts young people, calling them the “first victims of the crisis we are facing.”

French Sports and Youth Minister Marina Ferrari told France Inter that about twenty people have drowned since the weekend began, up from an initial count of thirteen.

She urged swimmers seeking relief from the heat to observe safety rules.

The previous day, three elderly residents died in their home in Gironde, southwest France, due to the high temperatures.

The head of the Île‑de‑France (greater Paris) region warned commuters of expected public‑transport disruptions caused by the heat.

“The transport network faces severe strain during extreme heat… railways cannot tolerate temperatures above 50 °C,” Valerie Pécresse told journalists.

“Therefore we advise anyone who can to postpone travel, especially vulnerable individuals, and to work from home where possible.”

Meanwhile, a nuclear plant in southwestern France shut down a reactor after cooling water drawn from a nearby river exceeded safe temperatures, a spokeswoman said.

The Golfech facility near Toulouse, which uses the Garonne River for cooling, recorded water temperatures above the 28 °C limit, she informed AFP.

Elsewhere in Europe, forecasts predict further record‑breaking temperatures and widespread disruption as authorities scramble to protect vulnerable populations.

Belgium’s heatwave is expected to persist for a week, with temperatures described as “the hottest ever recorded” by David Dehenauw, head of forecasting at the IRM meteorological institute; some schools have cut classes to half a day.

England on alert

The UK Met Office issued its highest heat warning for parts of central and southern England for Wednesday and Thursday, forecasting shade temperatures that could reach 40 °C in some areas.

“An exceptional spell of hot and humid weather is expected across this region,” the Met Office said on Monday, noting that the UK had broken its May temperature record just a month earlier. The warning covers London, Birmingham, Bath and surrounding areas.

“It is now likely that the current June temperature record will be surpassed; the existing high stands at 35.6 °C, recorded in Southampton in June 1976 and Camden Square in June 1957,” the forecaster added.

Schools in southwest England plan to finish the day early, and a train operator announced cancellations or alterations to some London‑bound services due to the “severe weather”.

Italy’s transport issues

Italy’s health ministry declared a red heatwave alert for fifteen cities, including Milan and Rome, for Tuesday, with the number expected to rise to sixteen on Wednesday.

During a red alert—the highest level—the ministry advises the public to eat light meals, stay indoors during the hottest periods, and cool themselves with water.

In Rome, the transport authority said the batteries on the city’s new electric buses are depleting before drivers’ shifts end because of heightened air‑conditioning use.

“We are organizing the service to cope with this unusual heatwave,” the Atac transport authority was quoted as saying by Corriere della Sera.

Taking refuge in Spain and Portugal

In Madrid, where temperatures peaked at 40 °C on Monday, city hall opened a “climate refuge” for homeless and vulnerable individuals from midday to 8:00 p.m., providing water, food, and hygiene facilities.

In the southern city of Córdoba, Dr. Clarisa Arismendi, 32, sought a brief respite from the heat.

“I’m eating an ice cream because it feels horrible and catastrophic,” she told AFP. “I don’t know the exact temperature, but it feels horrendous—even though I’m from Mexico.”

Portugal’s meteorological agency predicts Tuesday will be the height of the heatwave in the Iberian nation.

Germany deaths

Germany recorded a spike in fatal swimming incidents over the weekend, with authorities reporting five deaths.

Two men aged 20 and 22 drowned in Bavarian lakes, a 79‑year‑old woman perished in the Baltic Sea, and additional fatal accidents occurred in lakes in Brandenburg and North Rhine‑Westphalia.

Police said that on Monday several heat‑stressed passengers received treatment from emergency services at Frankfurt Airport after their aircraft was held on the apron for over an hour before departure.

(with AFP)

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