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Paris\/London\/Rome: King Charles was cooled by an aide with a hand-held fan at a palace event on climate change in London on Wednesday as Britain sweltered in its highest-ever June temperature.<\/p>\n
France recorded its hottest-ever day for the second day running, as Western Europe remains gripped by a heatwave that has claimed dozens of lives, disrupted power supplies, and shut schools.<\/p>\n
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Charles gets fan assistance from senior aide Vice-Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt at the St James\u2019 Palace reception.Getty Images<\/p>\n
Forecasters warn that the current \u201cheat dome\u201d means extreme temperatures could persist until the end of the week.<\/p>\n
The King was pictured receiving fan-assistance from the master of the royal household, Vice-Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, while greeting delegates at a St James\u2019s Palace event on super pollutants during London Climate Action Week.<\/p>\n
According to the London Telegraph, palace staff issued guests with hand-held fans upon entry, and a nurse was present to assist anyone struggling in the heat. Speaking at the event, which was also attended by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Charles described the oppressive temperatures as \u201cthe new normal\u201d.<\/p>\n
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People cool off at Trocadero fountain near the Eiffel Tower during a heat wave in Paris on Wednesday.AP<\/p>\n
Smashing previous records, Britain logged its highest temperature for June, with the Met Office reporting 36.1 degrees in Gosport, Hampshire, in southern England, edging above the previous June record of 35.6 set in 1957 and matched in 1976.<\/p>\n
The Meteo France weather agency said France\u2019s national thermal indicator \u2013 an average of temperatures measured at 30 weather stations \u2013 hit a new record of 30 degrees, the latest in a series of never-before-registered highs. The mercury surpassed 40 degrees in some locations, including in Paris.<\/p>\n
The weather agency put three-quarters of France under a red alert for extreme heat starting at midday Thursday until the same time Friday. The warning encompassed tens of millions of people.<\/p>\n
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People run through a sprinkler in London\u2019s Parliament Square on Wednesday.Getty Images![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/08af324b57c6d6f02da7409ae9cfd972bacb5fba.jpeg\")
A worker in London on Wednesday, as the UK recorded its hottest June day.BloombergBritish schools closed, trains cancelled<\/p>\n
In the UK, the heat was particularly uncomfortable, not least because so much of the country\u2019s infrastructure was built for cooler weather.<\/p>\n
The heat dome \u2013 a stationary high-pressure system that traps heat and humidity \u2013 took shape at a time when human-caused climate change fuels increasingly extreme weather. The UN climate agency projects that the next five years will likely shatter more heat records.<\/p>\n
Related Article \u201cHeat waves are becoming more frequent, longer and hotter with climate change, as a direct result of the fossil fuels we are releasing as a society,\u201d said Hayley Fowler, a professor at the Centre for Climate and Environmental Resilience at Newcastle University in the northeast of England. \u201cWe can expect to have to cope with more and more of these types of events in the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 1000 schools in England have closed due to the heat, and many train services have been cancelled, with passengers being urged to avoid nonessential travel in areas covered by the warning.<\/p>\n The red heat warning was only the second issued by UK authorities following July 2022, when temperatures exceeded 40 degrees for the first time. The temperature could breach that level on Thursday.<\/p>\n In France, Italy and Spain, more than 100 million people were warned to be extra vigilant about the dangers of the heat wave.<\/p>\n At least 48 people have died in France from drowning since the onset of the heat wave while trying to cool off, authorities said, and two young children were killed by heat in a car.<\/p>\n Spain reported two elderly people had died of heatstroke after days of temperatures exceeding 40 degrees, though conditions there began to ease on Wednesday following the hottest late-June days on record, according to national weather agency AEMET.<\/p>\n With the mercury rising, many of France\u2019s major attractions, including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre in Paris, have restricted visiting hours. Schools and transportation schedules were also upended.<\/p>\n Tens of thousands of homes in north-west France were without power after two electrical transformers in Brittany were taken out of service late Tuesday following an explosion apparently linked to the heat wave. About 68,000 households were still affected by the power outage on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Conditions in France were expected to remain stifling on Thursday, the forecaster said, extending a red alert weather warning to 72 districts across the country.<\/p>\n A \u2018very hot day\u2019 at pre-Wimbledon matches<\/p>\n On the day of extreme heat in London, Jannik Sinner dished out his own warning that he\u2019ll be fine to defend his Wimbledon title, returning successfully to action for the first time since being sensationally derailed at a sweltering French Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was only a grass-court exhibition match at the prestigious Hurlingham Club, a 15-minute drive from Wimbledon, but world No.1 Sinner looked in good nick as he defeated British No.1 Cam Norrie 6-3, 6-3.<\/p>\n It was Sinner\u2019s first match since his boilover second-round loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in Paris on May 28.<\/p>\n \u201cA very hot day,\u201d Sinner conceded in his post-match interview. \u201cExhibition matches, they are good because we try out a couple of things and hopefully be as good as we can, then for the next week.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier, Sinner had been seen wearing a cooling vest at practice at Wimbledon.<\/p>\n Because of the heat warnings, the ball kids for Wednesday\u2019s matches at Wimbledon\u2019s qualifying tournament were kept home. Their duties were handled by \u201cour Court Services team \u2013 who are all adults,\u201d the All England Club said.<\/p>\n There was also a temporary loss of power to part of the Roehampton qualifying venue, which meant that the electronic line-calling system could not function,\u201d the club added. Heat will be considered a possible cause of the outage.<\/p>\n AP\/Reuters\/AAP<\/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![\"Parisians](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7e4a291ac55dffbed225aa9037c5f2431e282962.jpeg\")
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Fans, cold drinks and light clothing were all popular choices in the sunshine.Getty ImagesRelated Article![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c72556ff16855dad2692582ee4427ce0eb250fb58837a12c2baf983de99af551.gif\")
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Jannik Sinner survived the Wimbledon exhibition match, weeks after wilting in the heat at the French Open.Getty Images<\/p>\n