Europe’s record heatwave shuts events, strains transport and hospitals

France imposed alcohol bans in some places and police pushed organizers to cancel major events as Europe’s record heatwave moved east and south, overwhelming transport systems, hospitals and daily life across the continent. Paris reached 40.9 C on Wednesday, a June record, while London’s emergency calls jumped 50% and schools stayed closed in parts of southern and eastern England as Britain’s red heat alert ran into a third day.

Scientists said the heatwave, which began on June 20, was the most severe ever recorded in Europe. They also said the Western Europe event would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, and that the soaring night-time temperatures were about 100 times more likely than they were two decades ago. Italy was expected to see its first 40 C readings of the summer into the weekend, underscoring how quickly the heat was spreading beyond the countries hit first.

In France, Health Minister Stephanie Rist warned of more deaths as the toll climbed. At least 18 people had died earlier in the week, including two children and three elderly people. Météo France said the country’s average temperature had broken a June record, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu planned a crisis meeting on Tuesday. Paris police asked organizers of major events, including the Solidays music festival, to cancel, and Pride festival planners said they would reschedule rather than proceed in dangerous conditions.

The disruption reached far beyond the French capital. Germany saw roads buckle under the heat, Belgium canceled a reenactment of the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, and Austria warned that train tracks could buckle in coming days. Sweden, hit hard enough to suffer rail problems, saw a cargo train derail after track buckling. In Britain, doctors said the heat was affecting critical equipment such as MRI scanners, while hospitals across Europe were becoming overwhelmed with demand as the temperature spike collided with fragile staffing and heavy seasonal use.

The pattern was the same across the continent: heat that once would have been treated as an exceptional summer burst is now shutting events, stressing power and transport networks, and forcing public health systems to absorb the shock in real time. As the heat moved east and south, Europe’s infrastructure and emergency services were still improvising to keep pace.