In June and July 2026 heat waves have affected countries in Western and Eastern Europe, breaking all time high temperature records.
France had its hottest day on record on June 23, and cities in Western Europe have regularly been subject to temperatures reaching above forty degrees Celsius. Bilbao, Spain reached temperatures as high as 42.5 Celsius(108.5 Fahrenheit), and Bordeaux, France reached temperatures as high as 42 Celsius.
The heat wave is just as strong in Eastern Europe, as Slovakia broke its heat record at 42.2 Celsius(107.96 Fahrenheit). Southern Europe is also widely affected, especially Italy, whose health ministry stated that all 27 major cities there are on “red alert”.
There are people who are coping with the intense heat by splashing in cold-water fountains filled with cold water or, if in France, swimming in the Seine. The French minister of labour Jean-Pierre Lanadou remarked that France is “in the process of finding out we’ve become a hot country,” warning that people may need to adapt. Children’s plans for fun have also been ruined, with one child saying, “Our summer fair has sadly been canceled because of the high temperatures.”
There have also been wildlife disasters, such as forest fires in Greece, killing firefighters and people that were accidentally trapped in the fire. Drought conditions also occurred in Eastern Europe, and the Danube River’s historic low water level threatened Hungary’s energy supply. Péter Magyar, Hungary’s prime minister, said, “Around 1:30 AM, we were a few millimeters away from completely shutting down the Paks power plant.” A cruise ship in Bulgaria had to evacuate 200 people because the water level was too low and the ship went aground. But problems can have some solutions, including how Romania detonated rocks in the Danube to redirect cooling water.
Even though the heat wave is making people very hot and uncomfortable, travelers from Asia flew to Europe in regular numbers and are “fighting” the heat quite well.