Heatwave conditions that have left Spain, France and the UK sweltering for days are set to shift to the east, with forecasters in Germany and the Czech Republic warning of extreme conditions.
Temperatures in Germany could hit 40 °C in some western and south‑western areas on Thursday, and across the country on Friday. An extreme weather warning is now in place in much of the Czech Republic.
In France, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced that the health alert level is being raised to its highest, to boost hospital staffing and protect the vulnerable.
Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said they were now seeing deaths among young people linked to the extreme temperatures, as well as the elderly.
United Nations climate change chief Simon Stiell said "Europe's savage heatwave has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it", calling for a faster shift to renewables, protecting forests and boosting climate resilience.
After France recorded its hottest day on Wednesday for the second day in a row, records continue to be broken. Météo‑France said the average minimum temperature reached 22 °C on Wednesday night. Nantes saw 27.2 °C in the north‑west.
Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said the mortality rate was on the rise in Paris, where temperatures have been high for several days. "We must not believe ourselves to be invulnerable," he told French TV. "I am thinking especially about the youth... At about 19:30 last night... I saw 100 or so joggers on the street. Frankly, that's irresponsible."
"It's fine to take a couple of days off from exercising," he added.
Meanwhile, a three‑year‑old child has been found dead in a car in the Paris region, days after two young children were found dead in the family's car in the southern town of Carpentras. In the north‑western city of Rennes, the head of the Accident and Emergency department Professor Louis Soulas linked the deaths of five or six people in their homes to the extreme temperatures. Emergency services had gone to check in on them after they had failed to pick up their phones during welfare calls, said Soulas: "It's not just the very elderly; it's people aged 60 and up."
Rennes saw a record 40.6 °C on Monday, only for that to be broken by 41 °C the following day. The region's intensive care units were "saturated," he warned. "We are truly at a peak of activity."
Three nuclear plants in France have gone offline due to the heat.
Some western regions in France are now bracing for huge thunderstorms from Thursday afternoon onwards. Gusts of up to 110 km/h (68 mph) are expected on France's Atlantic coast, and the first day of the Garorock festival has been cancelled in the Lot‑et‑Garonne region where temperatures could reach 42 °C.
Climate change is driving up temperatures around the world – especially in Europe, where it is heating up twice as fast as the global average. This is causing increased summer heatwaves, greater pressure on Europe's water supply, and more intense wildfires. In 2025 more than 1 million hectares burnt across Europe – a record level, with Spain particularly affected.
