Extreme heat and wildfire alerts have been issued across Europe as a deadly heatwave sweeps across the continent, causing at least two deaths and forcing schools in France to shut.
Temperatures in parts of Spain and Portugal reached a scorching 46C on the weekend as Italy and France brace for the worst of the persistent heat to come.
Late last week a high-pressure system started to bring temperatures up to 10C higher than normally expected at this time in summer, with the system moving west across Europe from the Iberian peninsula.
In France, 68 of the country’s 101 departments remain on an orange heatwave alert and a further 16, including the Paris basin, are on a red alert as the temperature reached 38C on Tuesday afternoon.
Red alerts for heat have also been issued by the Italian ministry of health for 16 cities, including Rome and Venice.
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Key Points
- Europe is world's fastest warming continent
Pictured: Tourists try to keep cool on the Spanish steps in Rome
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Daniel Keane
Species under threat by marine heatwave
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Daniel Keane
A Greek scientist has warned that some species are under threat due to a marine heatwave in the Mediterranean.
“We have seen temperatures we were expecting in the middle of August being recorded in June and ... this is why it is considered a record year for temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea," Christos Spyrou, associate researcher at the Academy of Athens research centre for atmospheric physics, said.
He said that the average sea temperatures in June were 3-6 degrees higher than the average between 1982-2023, which was used as a reference period.
"We expected these sea temperatures in August," Spyrou said, adding specific temperatures were not yet available.
Europe is world's fastest warming continent
17:15
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Daniel Keane
Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, heating up at twice the global average, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, with extreme heatwaves starting earlier in the year and persisting for longer.
"What is exceptional ... but not unprecedented is the time of year," said World Meteorological Organisation spokesperson Clare Nullis, adding that extreme heat episodes were seen now "which normally we would see later on in the summer."
Higher temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea tend to reinforce extreme temperatures over land areas, she said.
Watch: Drone footage shows Turkey firefighters battling huge flames in Izmir province
16:42
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Rachel Clun
In pictures: Europe swelters through heatwave
16:23
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Rachel Clun
What is a heat dome? Weather system explained
16:03
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Rachel Clun
Large swathes of the UK and Europe are sweltering through a heatwave, which could be exacerbated by a heat dome.
Here is how that weather phenomenon works:
Two deaths blamed on heatwave
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Rachel Clun
The deaths of two workers, in Spain and Italy, have been blamed on the extreme heatwave.
In Spain, authorities are investigating the death of a Barcelona street sweeper who had been cleaning the city’s old town centre on Saturday afternoon. The woman died later that day at home, her sister told the Antena 3 TV station.
Near Bologna, one of the cities under a heat alert on Tuesday, the 46-year-old owner of a construction company collapsed and died while repaving a school parking lot, state-run RAI reported. An autopsy was being conducted to determine the cause, but heat was suspected.
Watch: Simon Calder explains your travel rights during a heatwave
15:36
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Rachel Clun
Spain and Portugal record record highs of 46C and above
15:35
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Rachel Clun
Spanish and Portuguese authorities have confirmed record-breaking June temperatures.
A record high of 46C was reported in the town of El Granado in southern Spain on Saturday, according to Spain’s national weather service.
In Portugal, authorities confirmed the 46.6C reached in the town of Mora, on Sunday was also a new June record.
'Extreme heatwave' continues to grip Europe
15:30
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Rachel Clun
An “extreme heatwave” continues to grip much of Europe, triggering a series of weather alerts across the continent.
The continent is enduring its first major heatwave of the summer, with two deaths linked to extreme heat in Italy and hundreds of schools closed in France.
Dozens of heat warnings are in place across France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and well as the Balkans, according to weather aggregator MeteoAlarm.
“Extreme heat is no longer a rare event – it has become the new normal,” UN secretary general Antonio Guterres warned. “The planet is getting hotter & more dangerous – no country is immune.”
Read the full list of European countries experiencing a heatwave here:
