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Paris\/Madrid\/London: At least 18 people died in France, including two children left in a hot car, as a heatwave hung over Europe, breaking temperature records in several cities on Monday.<\/p>\n
As schools in France closed or modified timetables, forecasters in Britain predicted temperatures could break records for June this week.<\/p>\n
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A drugstore sign shows the temperature 43 degrees in Rennes, western France, on Monday.AP Photo\/Jeremias Gonzalez<\/p>\n
The temperature in Bordeaux in France\u2019s western wine country rose to 41.9 degrees, breaking a record set last August. In Poitiers in central France it reached 41.2 degrees, beating a previous high set in 1947.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re heading for, at the very least, several days of very, very hot weather. We don\u2019t know when temperatures will start falling,\u201d French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on TV channel TF1.<\/p>\n
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu had already banned alcohol consumption at the annual Fete de la Musique festivals and other public events on Sunday (Paris time) in 35 regions where red heatwave alerts were issued.<\/p>\n
In San Sebastian, in Spain\u2019s traditionally cooler north, the temperature was set to reach 40 degrees, more than double the city\u2019s historic average for June 22 according to the Reuters Climate Monitor, which showed Europe as the continent furthest from its historic norm on Monday.<\/p>\n
An April report by the World Meteorological Organisation found Europe is warming at more than double the global rate.<\/p>\n
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People cool off in the fountains of the Trocadero Gardens in Paris.Anadolu via Getty ImagesTwo children die in hot car<\/p>\n
First responders were unable to resuscitate two children, aged 2 and 4, who were found unconscious by their mother in the family car outside their home, said a prosecutor in Carpentras, southeast France.<\/p>\n
Three elderly people, aged between 80 and 95, died over the weekend in the Bordeaux region from health issues caused by the heatwave, local government official Sophie Brocas told France TV late on Sunday.<\/p>\n
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Young Parisians jump from a bridge to cool off in the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris.EPA<\/p>\n
\u201cSwim only in places that are supervised,\u201d French Civil Safety service spokesperson Jerome Boulanger said after 13 people were reported drowned from Sunday into Monday. Drowning deaths spiked by 172 per cent in France last year during heatwaves as swimmers tried to cool off.<\/p>\n
The heatwave affecting large parts of Europe is known as an Omega block because it takes the shape of the Greek letter, with a bulge of hot air in the middle and cooler air either side, said Clair Barnes, a research associate in extreme weather and climate at Imperial College in London.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s drawing warm air up from North Africa, from the Sahara, and that\u2019s why we have this really intense heat. It\u2019s very slow moving and it means there\u2019s kind of no wind, no breeze for respite,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Heatwaves and storms are being intensified by climate change, pushing temperatures higher and causing more rainfall, she said.<\/p>\n
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A man cools himself at a public fountain in Seville, Spain.Getty ImagesUK heat will break June record set in 1976<\/p>\n
The Met Office, Britain\u2019s national weather forecaster, said on Monday that a four-day heatwave there could push temperatures above 39 degrees in some places, easily breaking the June record of 35.6 degrees set in 1957 and 1976.<\/p>\n
Just a few weeks ago, Britain had shattered its record high temperature for May.<\/p>\n
\u201cThirty-six degrees is going to be disgusting,\u201d said data scientist Lewis Jennings, out walking in central London.<\/p>\n
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People on the beach in West Kirby, UK, on Monday.Getty Images<\/p>\n
Paris was due to register its highest temperature for June, with the mercury reaching 38.4 degrees, according to preliminary numbers from Meteo-France.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees above normal for this time of year, and in some northern areas even more than 10 degrees above average,\u201d said Rub\u00e9n del Campo, spokesperson for Spain\u2019s AEMET weather agency.<\/p>\n
Red heatwave alerts across ItalyRelated Article Italy on Monday issued heatwave red alerts for 12 cities.<\/p>\n Utility Iren was doubling workers\u2019 shifts and adding generators to address sporadic power cuts in Turin as the electricity grid came under strain, a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Birds such as swifts, swallows, sparrows and starlings, which make their nests in the eaves of roofs, have been particularly affected by abnormally high temperatures, said Romaine de Jaegere, founder of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of Animals Living in the Wild refuge in Temploux in Belgium.<\/p>\n \u201cTemperatures on the roofs can sometimes reach 50, even 60 degrees Celsius. So they prefer to jump rather than let themselves die and literally cook in their nests,\u201d De Jaegere said, adding that the shelter had received 150 animals in the last three days.<\/p>\n Reuters<\/p>\n Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c72556ff16855dad2692582ee4427ce0eb250fb58837a12c2baf983de99af551.gif\")
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