01. "Records Broken Daily": France and the UK Shocked by Unprecedented Heatwave

Météo-France, the French national meteorological service, announced that on June 25 local time, the average temperature across 30 observation stations nationwide surpassed 30°C (86°F). This is the highest figure since record-keeping began in 1947. Just the day before, on June 24, it had hit an all-time high of 29.8°C (86°F), only to be broken again just one day later. In some regions, daytime highs exceeded 43°C (109°F), and the capital, Paris, also topped 40°C (104°F).

The UK also broke its all-time June temperature record on June 24, reaching 36.1°C (97°F) in Gosport, Hampshire. This surpassed the previous record of 35.6°C (96°F) set in 1957 (and matched in 1976). The UK Met Office stated, "Seeing such temperatures in June is shocking," adding, "It is an event that makes us realize the reality of climate change."

In Spain, the daily average temperature for June reached 28.17°C (83°F), the highest since 1950. Italy issued its highest-level heatwave warnings for 16 cities, including Rome, while the Netherlands and Germany are also expected to approach 40°C (104°F) over the weekend.

02. "Europe Without AC Collapses": Chain Reaction of Blackouts, Drownings, and School Closures

Europe is currently on the brink of an infrastructure collapse. In the Finistère region of northwestern France, approximately 68,000 households experienced power outages on the night of June 24 due to heat-related transformer failures. The cause was the strain placed on equipment by the severe heatwave. RTE, the French electricity transmission system operator, launched emergency repairs, stating, "For every 1°C (1.8°F) increase in temperature, electricity consumption increases by 1 megawatt," but the restoration took more than a day.

Even more tragic is the loss of human life. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that at least 40 people have drowned since June 18. They met with accidents while swimming in unsupervised rivers or lakes to escape the heat. A six-year-old child was among the victims. In Spain, a 90-year-old resident at a nursing home near Bilbao died of heatstroke, and a 68-year-old man also passed away from heatstroke in Almería.

In the UK, about 1,000 schools closed or sent students home early, and train services were significantly scaled back. The Louvre Museum and the Eiffel Tower shortened their visiting hours, and the Pope's general audience in Vatican Square was held under the scorching sun. Only about 20% of European households own air conditioners, and buildings, especially in Northern Europe, are designed for cold climates, meaning their structures trap heat. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned, "Europe's heatwave is threatening lives," adding, "There is no time to delay."

03. "The Clear Fingerprint of Climate Change": Heat Domes and Warnings from Scientists

The direct cause of this heatwave is a "heat dome." This is a phenomenon where high pressure traps hot air, and the jet stream wraps around it in an omega (Ω) shape, causing it to linger in the same spot for days. The UK Met Office explained, "The UK is situated on the boundary between high pressure and cold air from the northwest, showing an extreme contrast with a heatwave in the south and rain in the north."

However, the root cause lies elsewhere. ClimaMeter, a climate science platform, analyzed this heatwave and stated, "Without climate change, temperatures would have been 2 to 4°C (4 to 7°F) lower than they are now." Marco Chericoni of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change in Italy said, "This is a clear fingerprint of human-induced climate change," adding, "It is making European heatwaves more intense and more dangerous."

Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world. Since the mid-1990s, temperatures have been rising by about 0.56°C (1.0°F) per decade, which is more than twice the global average. According to a study published in the journal Nature in 2025, emissions from 180 fossil fuel and cement-producing companies "contributed substantially" to 213 historical heatwaves that occurred between 2000 and 2023. Davide Faranda, a climate physicist at ClimaMeter, emphasized, "If temperatures like these become the norm in the coming decades, massive damage is inevitable," adding, "Rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the only way to prevent today's extremes from becoming tomorrow's average summer."

04. The European Heatwave: Just the Beginning

While Europe's heatwave is expected to ease somewhat starting today, Friday, it is spreading to Eastern Europe and is projected to peak this weekend in countries like Poland and Croatia. UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged at London Climate Action Week, "The climate crisis and the energy crisis come from the same root: fossil fuels," calling for "a rapid and fair transition to clean energy as the answer." Europe exceeding 40°C (104°F) in June—this is now becoming the norm rather than the exception.


Deep Dive Q&A
Q1. Why is Europe more vulnerable to heatwaves and warming faster than other continents?

A1. Geographically, Europe is directly affected by Arctic warming, and changes in atmospheric circulation (the jet stream) cause the "heat dome" phenomenon—where high-pressure systems stall—to occur more frequently. Furthermore, buildings historically constructed to retain heat for cold weather, combined with a low air conditioning penetration rate of only around 20%, are major factors exacerbating casualties and social disruption.

Q2. What is the relationship between the "heat dome," the direct cause of this heatwave, and climate change?

A2. A heat dome is a meteorological phenomenon where a high-pressure system lingers over a specific area, trapping hot air like a dome. According to analyses by climate science platforms such as ClimaMeter, global warming caused by human activity is weakening atmospheric currents, causing heat domes to occur more frequently and persist longer, pushing temperatures about 2 to 4°C (4 to 7°F) higher than they would have been without climate change.