France is enduring a brutal heat wave this week, with daytime temperatures climbing above 40 degrees Celsius — that’s 104 degrees Fahrenheit — and nighttime temperatures offering little relief to a population largely without air conditioning.
The country’s national weather service, Meteo France, warned that most of France — the largest nation in the European Union — would be stuck in these oppressive conditions through at least Friday.
Meteo France described the heat wave as exceptionally intense, drawing comparisons to the devastating August 2003 heat wave, though officials noted its duration remains uncertain. That 2003 event prompted France to create a heat watch warning system after the highest temperatures recorded in more than 50 years led to an estimated 15,000 deaths, many of them elderly people living in apartments and care homes without air conditioning.
According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising at twice the global average pace since the 1980s. Scientists link human-caused climate change to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, and projections from the United Nations climate agency suggest the next five years will break even more heat records.
Several communities across France hit their all-time temperature highs on Monday. Paris endured its hottest June night on record, with temperatures never dipping below 24.2 degrees Celsius (75.5 degrees Fahrenheit). The French capital also set a new June daytime record of 37.7 degrees Celsius (99.9 degrees Fahrenheit) Monday afternoon.
“This will continue through the end of the week, with heat levels never before recorded across more than three-quarters of the country on Wednesday and Thursday,” Meteo France stated.
The intense heat also worsened air quality in Paris, triggering the formation of ozone that traps pollution. The air quality monitoring agency serving the Paris region warned that pollutant levels were expected to surpass recommended safety thresholds.
With air conditioning uncommon across much of France, residents scrambled to cope. Education minister Edouard Geffray announced that 1,352 schools were shut down Monday because of the heat, while several thousand others adjusted their schedules — releasing students earlier and moving classes into air-conditioned spaces.
More than half of France’s regions were placed under a “red alert” for heat by Monday, covering areas forecast to see highs above 40 degrees Celsius with overnight lows staying above 20 degrees Celsius.
Announcements on the Paris public transit network urged riders to stay hydrated. Medical professionals warned about the dangerous combination of alcohol consumption in extreme heat, and authorities moved to restrict public drinking.
Multiple drowning incidents were also reported as people attempted to cool off in rivers, despite warnings about dangerous currents and other hazards.
Tragically, two young children — ages 2 and 4 — died Monday after being discovered unconscious inside their family’s car in the southern town of Carpentras. According to a statement from the public prosecutor, initial findings indicate the children had locked themselves inside the vehicle. An investigation has been launched under an involuntary manslaughter charge. Government officials urged parents never to leave children unattended in vehicles.
Neighboring United Kingdom also braced for dangerous heat. The British weather office issued a rare “red” weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday, cautioning that temperatures could top 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) in the shade and potentially reach 40 degrees Celsius in parts of England and Wales. Officials there also warned that extreme temperatures could cause heat-sensitive infrastructure to fail, including power and mobile phone services.
The World Health Organization’s Europe office reported this month that more than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes over the past four years — and that most of those deaths were preventable. Extreme heat can lead to heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke.
The EU’s monitoring agency found that 2024 was the hottest year ever recorded both in Europe and globally, with the continent seeing its second-highest number of “heat stress” days on record.
Scientists continue to warn that climate change is making heat waves and drought more frequent and more intense — particularly in southeastern Europe — raising the risk of health crises and wildfires. The burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline, oil, and coal, along with deforestation, wildfires, and industrial emissions, releases heat-trapping gases that drive climate change.
