Extreme Heat Sweeps Across Europe

During the summer of 2026, people living in Europe are suffering from an extreme heat wave due to climate change and a stubborn heat dome which traps hot air and heat over the continent.

A stubborn heat dome is a weather phenomenon where a large, persistent area of high pressure parks over a region, trapping hot air underneath like a lid on a pot.

WWA (World Weather Attribution) scientists found both the daytime highs and the nighttime temperatures during this summer would have been “virtually impossible” 50 years ago.

These scientists looked at 854 cities across 30 heat-affected European countries and found 45% of these cities have broken or are on the verge of breaking their all-time records for wet bulb globe temperature.

This extreme heat brings disasters. In western Europe, many regions are beginning to see wildfires. On the beach of Moutchic in Lacanau in southwestern France on July 24, 2026, beach goers could see clouds of smoke rising into the sky from the Gironde Wildfire.

Another example is that in Spain, 33,000 people had fled from a wildfire because of the extreme heat. In addition, according to Laura Paddison from CNN, said that “In Spain, more than 200 people have died due to the heat wave over just 4 days,” .

The heat widely disrupted people’s routines. In Paris, France, many families don’t have air conditioning, and the insufferable heat is forcing them to take ice cold showers every night and sleep on the sofa instead of their bedroom. Also, they couldn’t go outside during daytime.

The higher the temperature gets, the chances of heat exhaustion or even heat stroke, which can be fatal, rises significantly. European countries have already reported hundreds of heat-related fatalities.