Europe Records Hottest June Day as Heat Dome Persists

Europe recorded its hottest June day on record Wednesday as a heat dome remained parked over Western Europe. Temperatures climbed again across the continent, with one town exceeding 44 °C and Spain reporting readings above 45 °C in the south. The highest-level red heat alerts remained in place in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.

French authorities said 40 people have drowned since Thursday in connection with the heatwave. Three elderly people died from heat-related causes near Bordeaux, and two children aged two and four were found dead in a hot car in southern France. A 90-year-old woman died near Bilbao after suffering heatstroke in a nursing home, and a 68-year-old man in Almeria died from heatstroke, Spanish officials reported.

Tens of thousands of residents remained without power. Hundreds of schools closed or moved to shortened schedules, and rail operators advised passengers to avoid unnecessary travel. Only about 20 percent of European homes have air conditioning, leaving the continent ill-equipped for sustained extreme heat.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising at about twice the global average rate. Heatwaves like the current one are about 30 times more likely than in the pre-climate change era, according to one academic analysis. This marks the second major episode of extreme heat to hit Europe in the past two months.

"Temperatures across Europe are rising at roughly twice the global average rate," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.