Here are the latest developments in Europe’s heatwave. Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming, and warn they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense. France shuts nuclear reactorsFrance’s electricity utility EDF said two more nuclear reactors had been shut down to cope with the extreme heat, bringing the total to three, as rivers become too hot to cool the plants.
Switzerland said it was reducing operations at its Beznau plant and would shut down reactors if the heat persisted, also saying the river water used for cooling was now too hot. Another child dies in FranceA three-year-old has been found dead in a car in the Paris region, a police source said, the third child to die in similar circumstances during the extreme weather this week. Parents found the boy in “the car outside their home”, the source said.
Civil defence said the death happened in the Paris suburbs. Scores of heat deaths in SpainThe heatwave could be linked to 212 deaths in Spain between Sunday and Wednesday, according to estimates the MoMo monitoring system, which compiles daily death statistics and compares them with historical records.101 million face +35CAt least 101 million people in Europe are expected to experience temperatures in excess of 35C on Thursday, including 50 million in France and 18 million in Germany, according to AFP calculations.
UN blames fossil fuel pollutionThe heatwave is “the latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet”, said UN climate chief Simon Stiell.”Until humanity stops burning colossal amounts of coal, oil and gas, extreme heat will keep getting worse,” Stiell said in a statement. France will begin lifting its red alerts from Thursday evening, forecaster Meteo France said. “On Friday, a gradual drop in temperatures along the Atlantic coast is beginning to take shape following Thursday evening’s stormy conditions,” the agency added. Paris mayor warns of rising deathsParis mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said there had been an “increase in mortality” in the capital owing to the heatwave, without giving figures.
He said “pretty much all our indicators are in a critical state”, including calls to emergency medical services, calls to the fire brigade, ER admissions, and deaths, he told local TV. Three ‘likely’ heatwave deaths in FranceThree deaths in northern France’s Pas-de-Calais region were “likely” caused by the heatwave, the local authorities said. They include an elderly man who was working outside and two people who died indoors and had “other medical conditions”, it said.
Brussels protestAround 20 activists entered a pool in a Brussels park on Wednesday to protest the absence of designated outdoor swimming areas in the Belgian capital, calling it an aberration in the midst of a heatwave. Hottest day in UKThe UK recorded its hottest ever June temperature on Wednesday with the mercury rising to 36.1C in southern England, breaking the previous record of 35.6C set in 1976.
It is the second month in a row that Britain has broken historical temperature records, as scientists warn that climate change is making extreme weather events like heatwaves more frequent and intense.burs-jxb/jj
Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:20:13 GMT