In 84 out of 96 French departments, an orange alert is currently in effect, the second highest level of alert in the country. The French Minister for Climate Change, Agnes Panier-Runache, described this situation as"unprecedented".
According to the Spanish National Meteorological Service, a new June temperature record of 46 °C was set in the city of El Granada on Saturday. The same source states that this month is on track to become the warmest June on record.
⚠️ National temperature record for June.
→ On the 28th, 46 °C was reached in El Granado (Huelva). El dato, pendiente de validation, supondría la temperatura más alta medida en España en June desde que hay registros.
→ Supera los 45.2 °C de Sevilla (junio de 1965) pic.twitter.com/0Qb1KJir3W— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) June 28, 2025
Many countries have put emergency medical services on alert
In France, almost 200 schools are closed or partially closed due to the heat wave that has been affecting parts of Europe for more than a week, and the peak is expected in the middle of this week. Education Minister Elizabeth Bourne said she was working with local authorities to decide how best to protect children - or allow parents to keep them at home.
Forest fires broke out in the Corbier mountain range in the south of France on Sunday, causing the evacuation of some locations and the closure of the highway.
21 Italian cities under the highest level of alert
In Italy, 21 cities, including Rome, Milan and Venice, as well as the island of Sardinia, are under the highest level of heat alert. Mario Guarino of the Italian Association of Emergency Medicine told AFP that emergency hospital admissions had risen by 10 percent due to heatstroke cases.
In parts of England, this Monday is expected to be one of the hottest Junes on record, with temperatures above 34C.
In Spain, which is on track to record its hottest June on record, high temperature warnings are still in place."I can't sleep and I have insomnia. I get sunstroke, I stop eating and I can't concentrate," 21-year-old Annabel Sanchez told Reuters in Seville. In Portugal, seven regions, including the capital Lisbon, are under the highest level of alert.
Fires in Turkey and Croatia, historic temperatures in the region
Balkan countries are also dealing with intense heat, although temperatures have started to drop slightly in some areas. In Turkey, firefighters are still putting out hundreds of fires that broke out in the past few days. About 20 houses burned down in the fire in Seferihisar district, 50 kilometers southwest of the resort of Izmir, and some residential areas were evacuated.
In Croatia, fires broke out in the coastal regions, where extreme temperature warnings are in effect. In Greece, temperatures have been exceeding 40 °C for days, and last week fires broke out in coastal areas near Athens. Some houses burned down, and the residents had to flee.
On Wednesday, Serbia recorded the hottest day since temperature has been measured, and a record 38.8 °C was measured in Sarajevo on Thursday. The highest June temperature of all time was recorded in Slovenia on Saturday. In Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, the temperature reached 42 °C on Friday and such conditions are expected to continue.
Impact on nature and ecosystems
The heat wave is not only a health problem, but also a climate problem. The increased temperatures of the Adriatic Sea favor invasive species such as the poisonous lion fish, and additionally endanger the Alpine glaciers, which are already melting rapidly.
Although it is not possible to say that every extreme weather event is directly caused by climate change, scientists warn that heat waves are becoming more frequent and more intense due to climate change.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has warned that the current heat wave shows how urgent it is to adapt to climate change - including abandoning practices and energy sources, such as fossil fuels, that contribute to global warming."Rising temperatures, rising sea levels, floods, droughts and fires threaten our basic rights - the right to life, health, a clean and sustainable environment, but much more than that," he said before the UN Human Rights Council.
