A dangerous early-summer heat wave is continuing to spread across Europe, bringing record temperatures to several countries and raising concerns about health risks, drowning deaths and climate change.
Around 150 million people are now dealing with temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius. The World Meteorological Organization has warned that the heat could have major effects on people’s health and on ecosystems. The heat first developed around the Iberian Peninsula, then moved farther north and east, reaching countries that do not always see this level of heat so early in the summer.
Germany saw one of the highest readings. On Saturday, a weather station in Möckern-Drewitz, in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, measured 41.5 degrees Celsius. That broke the country’s all-time temperature record for the second straight day. The previous mark, 41.3 degrees Celsius, had been reached Friday in Saarbrucken, near the French border.
The heat was felt in cities too. In Berlin, police used water cannons to spray mist into the air for people trying to cool off. It was an unusual scene, but also kind of simple relief for people outside. Katrin Goering-Eckardt, a German politician and former Green Party leader, said on X that the heat was not just normal summer weather, but a health crisis.
Records were also reported in other parts of Europe. The Czech Republic reached 40.8 degrees Celsius at Doksany, north of Prague, according to the national meteorological service. Denmark recorded a provisional 37 degrees Celsius in Odum, near Aarhus, which passed a record from 1976. In Switzerland, Basel reached 39 degrees Celsius, giving the country its hottest June day for the third day in a row.
The heat has also been deadly. Spain’s MoMo monitoring system recorded 327 deaths that could be connected to the heat from Sunday through Thursday. In France, drowning deaths have climbed to at least 55 since the heat wave began. About two-thirds of those people had been swimming in places without supervision. People are trying to escape the heat, and sometimes the places they go are not safe.
Scientists say the heat is closely tied to climate change. A World Weather Attribution study released Friday found that an event like this would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago. The study also said this kind of heat is now 200 times more likely than it would have been 20 years ago.
Researchers compared the current heat wave with past hot periods in 1976 and 2003. They estimated that a similar event would have been about 3.5 degrees Celsius cooler during the day in the climate of 1976, and about 2 degrees cooler in 2003. Nights would also have been cooler, which matters because hot nights make it harder for people to recover after the day.
The heat wave has been linked to a slow-moving area of high pressure, sometimes called a heat dome. Sinking air under the system compressed and warmed, while mostly clear skies allowed strong sunshine to keep heating the ground and air.
Forecasters said temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius could continue in some places through Monday. Cooler weather is expected to move in from the west later in the week, bringing some relief as it spreads east.
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