The United Kingdom and Switzerland both recorded their hottest-ever June temperatures on Thursday, as a severe heatwave swept across Europe. The UK's provisional high of 36.7°C was recorded in Merryfield, Somerset, surpassing the previous June record of 36.1°C set in Gosport, Hampshire, on Wednesday. That record had itself broken the 35.6°C peak set in Southampton in 1976.
In Switzerland, the national weather agency MétéoSuisse reported that temperatures exceeded 37°C for the first time in June, breaking a record set in 1947. A temperature of 38°C was recorded at the Basel weather station, the same location where the 1947 record was logged. Meanwhile, the Met Office confirmed that a sweltering night in Cardiff broke another UK heat record, with temperatures only falling to 23.5°C overnight, the highest minimum temperature ever recorded in June.
The extreme heat has been linked to multiple deaths across Europe. In France, public prosecutors connected the death of a three-year-old boy to the heat after he became trapped in his family's car in the suburbs of Paris. Earlier in the week, two other young children died in heat-related incidents. France's prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, reported at least 40 drownings, many involving young people, in unsupervised swimming areas. The mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, noted an 'increase in mortality' in the capital, citing critical indicators such as emergency calls and hospital admissions.
In Spain, estimates from a public institute suggested the heatwave could have caused 212 deaths between Sunday and Wednesday. The country recorded its highest daily average temperatures in June since at least 1950, with the often cooler north bearing the brunt, including a record 43.7°C in the Cantabrian village of Tama. In Italy, courts in Palermo suspended non-urgent hearings due to malfunctioning air conditioning, and the newspaper Corriere della Sera reported five deaths from the heatwave, including two farmworkers and a builder.
The heatwave has also caused widespread disruption. France shut down three nuclear reactors after cooling waters became too hot. The Netherlands issued a rare red alert for Friday, while Germany braced for temperatures between 35°C and 41°C, with Deutsche Bahn warning customers not to travel due to risks of wildfires and thunderstorms. Open-air sports events were cancelled across the region as authorities struggled to cope with the scorching conditions.
