![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/002493fb-614.jpg\"\/)
\nA map showing the extent of the heat in Europe<\/p>\n
Western Europe is in the grip of a deadly, record-setting heatwave that has killed dozens of people, disrupted power supplies, and closed schools and cultural landmarks, as forecasters warned the extreme temperatures could persist until the end of the week.<\/p>\n
The conditions have also slowed trains and forced farmers to harvest grain at night.<\/p>\n
Smashing previous records, the UK logged its highest temperature for June, reaching 36.1C in southern England, as a heat dome hovered over much of Western Europe.<\/p>\n
France recorded its hottest day since records began nearly 80 years ago, when temperatures peaked at 44.3C in the southwestern town of Pissos yesterday.<\/p>\n
Today, Paris hit 40.9C, a June record for the capital.<\/p>\n
\nA map showing the extent of the heat in Europe<\/p>\n
Italy’s health ministry placed 16 cities – including Florence, Milan, Rome, Turin and Verona – on its highest heat alert, and warned the heatwave could intensify further, peaking between Sunday and Monday.<\/p>\n
At least 48 people have died in France from drowning since the onset of the conditions while trying to cool off, authorities said, and two young children were killed by heat in a car.<\/p>\n
Spain reported that two elderly people had died of heatstroke after days of temperatures exceeding 40C, though conditions have become to ease, according to national weather agency AEMET.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/002492d6-614.jpg\"\/)
\nThe UK recorded a record June temperature of 35.7C<\/p>\n
Scorching heat killed hundreds of thousands of birds on poultry farms in Brittany and the Pays de la Loire region, agricultural groups said.<\/p>\n
France’s nuclear power plants, which supply most of the country’s electricity, cut output by about 7% of total demand as high temperatures limited access to cooling water.<\/p>\n
The heatwave is being driven by a weather pattern, known as an Omega block, pushing temperatures as much as 18C above normal, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.<\/p>\n
The phenomenon resembles the shape of the Greek letter Omega, with a bulbous middle trapping in heat over regions for extended periods, with cooler weather on its fringes.<\/p>\n
Heatwaves and storms are being intensified by climate change.<\/p>\n
Paris-based journalist Morgan Ayre outlines the extent of the heatwave in France<\/p>\n
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences<\/a><\/p>\n The UK’s record temperature came as an extreme heat warning is in effect.<\/p>\n Hundreds of schools closed or shortened their day as officials warned that high temperatures could endanger even healthy people.<\/p>\n The 36.1C reported in the Hampshire town of Gosport exceeded the previous June record of 35.6C set in 1957 and matched in 1976.<\/p>\n Even London Climate Action Week was disrupted, with the conditions forcing organisers to cancel an event on extreme heat.<\/p>\n Weather agency Meteo-France said the conditions are comparable to a heatwave in August 2003 that lasted 16 days and caused an estimated 80,000 excess deaths across Europe.<\/p>\n Conditions in France are expected to remain stifling tomorrow, the forecaster said, extending a red alert weather warning to 72 districts across the country.<\/p>\n Europe is warming at more than twice the global average, the World Meteorological Organization said, making prolonged heat episodes increasingly likely.<\/p>\n The Eiffel Tower and the Louvre museum in Paris announced early closing times, and the Changing of the Guard outside Buckingham Palace in London was scaled back, without the usual ceremony of soldiers in tunics and bearskin hats.<\/p>\n The Uffizi Galleries in Florence, one of Italy’s top tourist sites, halted ticket sales to fix an air conditioning malfunction.<\/p>\n At Paris Fashion Week, the audience sweated through the Louis Vuitton show as male models showed off creations by singer Pharrell Williams.<\/p>\n Labels including Dior and Rick Owens changed their schedules to hold shows in the morning.<\/p>\n An extreme heat warning is in place across the Netherlands, where outdoor sports were cancelled and public transport scaled down while schools shortened classes or closed as temperatures were expected to soar to 36C.<\/p>\n In Switzerland, local authorities opened air-conditioned theatres for free daytime cinema screenings.<\/p>\n Construction contractors across the continent altered working hours so employees could avoid the worst of the heat, while retailers struggled to meet demand for fans and portable air-conditioners.<\/p>\n A French agriculture \u2060cooperative said farmers were introducing night shifts for harvesting to protect workers from afternoon heat and fields from fire risk.<\/p>\n Construction firms across the continent adjusted working hours to limit exposure, and retailers struggled to keep up with demand for fans and portable air conditioners.<\/p>\n Europe has no unified rules governing work in extreme heat, with national regulations varying.<\/p>\n A French agricultural cooperative said farmers had moved to night shifts to protect workers and reduce fire risk.<\/p>\n Read more: Additional reporting PA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Western Europe is in the grip of a deadly, record-setting heatwave that has killed dozens of people, disrupted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-516787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/002492da-614.jpg\"\/)
\nA commuter uses a fan in an attempt to cool down as she exits a tube train in London<\/p>\n![\"Infographic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0024939c-614.jpg\"\/)
\nThe hottest days in France, based on the national temperature index, up to 23 June 2026, a record-breaking day<\/p>\n
WHO chief warns that heatwave-hit Europe must adapt healthcare<\/a>
Why is Europe the world’s fastest-warming continent?<\/a><\/p>\n