A prolonged heatwave continued across France on Monday, July 13, with 37 departments under red heatwave vigilance and another 39 under orange vigilance. Exceptionally warm nights, increasingly dry soils and a nationwide wildfire danger are expected to persist as the highest temperatures shift toward central and eastern parts of the country.
Western Europe recorded its warmest June on record in 2026, with an average temperature of 20.74°C (69.3°F), 3.06°C (5.51°F) above the 1991–2020 average, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The record-breaking month coincided with widespread heatwaves across western and central Europe that set national and local temperature records, while June ranked as the second-warmest globally in the ERA5 dataset.
A fast-moving wildfire near Los Gallardos in Almería, southern Spain, killed at least 11 people on July 9–10, 2026, injured eight, and left at least 19 people missing as crews worked through steep terrain, road closures, and extreme heat.
Hungary recorded its highest temperature since observations began on June 30, 2026, when the temperature reached 42°C (107.6°F) in Szécsény, surpassing the previous national record of 41.9°C (107.4°F) measured in Kiskunhalas in 2007. The same heat wave also established a new all-time temperature record in Budapest and rewrote numerous national and capital daily maximum and minimum temperature records between June 29 and July 1, according to HungaroMet.
The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) has confirmed a new all-time maximum air temperature for the Czech Republic after the Doksany meteorological station measured 41.9°C (107.4°F) on June 28, 2026, surpassing the previous national record of 40.4°C (104.7°F) set in 2012 during a historic late-June heatwave.
France has recorded around 1 000 excess deaths since June 24, 2026 as an exceptional heatwave swept across the country, with 85% of the deaths involving people aged 65 and older, according to preliminary figures released by France’s Public Health Agency (SPF). The agency warned the data remain preliminary and are expected to increase as additional mortality reports are received.
Germany provisionally recorded its highest air temperature on record on June 26, 2026 as an exceptional late-June heatwave continued to rewrite temperature records across Europe, prompting widespread red heat warnings, disrupting public life and raising concerns over growing impacts on health, infrastructure and ecosystems.
The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) placed much of the Netherlands under its first-ever Code Red warning for extreme heat on Friday after forecasting oppressive conditions, heat stress levels of 9 to 10 and temperatures reaching up to 40°C (104°F) in isolated locations.
Temperatures reached 36.7°C (98.1°F) at Merryfield, Somerset, on June 25, 2026, provisionally making it the hottest June day on record in the United Kingdom, according to the UK Met Office. The agency also reported new provisional June records in Wales and record-equalling heat in Northern Ireland.
Extreme heat continued to spread across Europe on June 24, 2026, prompting widespread red alerts and health warnings across Europe. The prolonged heatwave driven by a strong upper-level ridge is affecting much of Western, Central, and Southern Europe, with temperatures forecast to remain 3 to 10°C (5.4 to 18°F) above seasonal averages and locally exceed 40°C (104°F) through the end of June.
