Heat wave breaks French and UK records as temperatures soar

Joe Wertz and Nayla Razzouk, Bloomberg News on Jun 25, 2026

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The heat wave baking western Europe broke records in the U.K. and France, as the region faces another day of soaring temperatures.

The U.K. recorded its hottest June day on Wednesday, with daytime highs hitting 36.1C (97F) in Gosport in southern England, according to the Met Office. France’s average daily temperature reached an all-time high of 30C, eclipsing the record set on Tuesday, data from Météo-France show.

The intense heat wave is hitting Europe earlier than usual, underscoring how climate change is reshaping summers on the world’s fastest-warming continent. As the extreme heat strains health services, transport networks and power grids, meteorologists warn of above-normal temperatures for months to come.

France has been the epicenter of the heat wave for more than a week, with daytime highs reaching 43.8C in Palluau in the west on Wednesday.

Automaker Stellantis this week activated a heat plan to give workers more breaks at plants, including Rennes, where the Citroen C5 is assembled. The CFDT labor union said those measures aren’t enough and is calling for a meeting with management, according to a press statement.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has raised the country’s health alert to its highest level, while Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said hundreds of air conditioners are being delivered to schools in the French capital. The heat is also becoming a critical issue for nursing homes that lack air-conditioning, Zaynab Riet, executive director of the French Hospital Federation, told France Inter radio station on Thursday.

The heat wave, driven by a high-pressure heat dome and atmospheric shifts from a developing El Niño, has led to widespread public health warnings. A record 72 departments in France are under red heat alerts, with similar warnings in effect in the U.K., Germany, and Switzerland.

The extreme temperatures have been deadly in France and in Spain, where monitoring by the Institute of Health show more than 200 additional deaths during the heat wave. Forecasters and health authorities have warned about the mounting threat of heat exhaustion due to excessively warm and humid evenings, which have set local records across the region.

“If you don’t get enough sleep, then your body can’t recover and then it struggles again through the day to cope,” U.K. Met Office Meteorologist Alex Burkill said on a video briefing.

Temperatures in Paris are forecast to reach 41C on Thursday, with 36C possible in London on Friday.

Government forecasters in Ireland have also warned of potential heat records on Friday, while daytime highs in Frankfurt are set to top 40C, according to weather models from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

The heat wave is set to peak Saturday in Germany, with temperatures possibly hitting a record 42C in some areas. Deutsche Bahn has warned of disruptions with rail tracks and other infrastructure struggling under direct sunlight, strong winds and heavy rains from heat-fueled thunderstorms.

“The record-breaking heat in large parts of Germany and neighboring countries is also placing a record strain on railway infrastructure,” a statement in their newsblog said.

The extreme heat is forecast to ease this weekend, but unusually warm temperatures are likely to linger through next week, according to weather models and analysis from Vaisala.

—With assistance from Claudia Cohen, Jennifer Duggan, Jenni Thier, James Regan and Albertina Torsoli.