Temperatures reached about 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in sections of Europe on Sunday as a blistering heatwave that began on June 20 continued to bake the continent while storm activity moved into other areas. French public health officials reported around 1,000 excess deaths associated with the extreme heat, noting most victims were older people and warning that figures were likely to rise as further details emerge from residential care settings and private homes.
Scientists characterise the heatwave as the worst recorded in Europe. The prolonged high temperatures have strained multiple systems - from electricity networks and thermal power plants to transport infrastructure and health services - and have overwhelmed hospitals and emergency responders in some regions.
Human toll and public health
Health authorities in France are compiling information on deaths that occurred in different settings and have said the current count of about 1,000 excess fatalities could climb as that work continues. The World Health Organization Director-General stated on the social media platform X that "Right now 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling." He added that the phenomenon - once considered a rare, once-in-a-generation event - is now occurring almost every year and described homes, workplaces and schools in Europe as inadequately adapted to such temperatures.
Scientists contributing to assessments of the event said the heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change and that recent increases in overnight temperatures have been made around 100 times more likely compared with two decades ago.
Transport and power disruptions
The intense heat has set new record highs in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland, while storms brought further disruption to travel and electricity supplies in parts of France. In Germany, rail services were reduced on a key line in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia and tram operations were suspended in the eastern city of Leipzig. Local media reported many residents avoided leaving their homes until evening to escape the worst of the heat.
Power systems have felt the strain. Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant cut output again because the Danube River - used as a cooling source - had warmed to high temperatures, the government said. In France, storms on Saturday night delivered some relief in temperature but also caused outages. Electricity provider Enedis reported that 36,000 households in northern and central France were without power on Sunday afternoon.
Rivers, agriculture and coastal encroachment
Rivers across Europe have warmed and in some cases dropped to low flows, which has implications for electricity generation and agriculture. In Italy, the Po River's diminished flow has allowed seawater to penetrate up to 18 km (11 miles) inland, raising concerns about the impact on farming and protected wetlands in the river delta.
Authorities in the Czech Republic urged people to refrain from strenuous physical activity and issued smog warnings across central and northern areas because elevated ground-level ozone concentrations were being driven by the high temperatures.
Fatalities and search operations
Reports indicate dozens of people who sought relief from the heat have drowned. In Italy, rescuers were searching for the husband of cabinet minister Eugenia Roccella after he went missing while swimming in Lake Vico, about 70 km (44 miles) from Rome.
Forecast and outlook
Meteorologists said thunderstorms could affect parts of France, Germany and the Czech Republic over the next day or two, and predicted that cooler weather would return to much of Western Europe this week as the heat moves deeper into Central Europe and the Balkans. France's weather agency said extreme heat has eased across most of the country, though some northeastern areas remained under a heat advisory.
France's Health Minister cautioned that the effects of the heatwave could persist for up to 10 days after temperatures begin to subside. "The episode is not finished," she told broadcaster BFM, underlining that impacts on health and services may continue even as temperatures moderate.