Europe Heat Wave Intensifies With France and UK on Red Alert

On 22 June 2026, a heat wave intensified across Europe. France and the UK were both placed on red alert, red heat alerts were issued in France, Italy and Spain, and temperatures of 40C were forecast. France and the UK both broke temperature records, according to Deutsche Welle.

Reuters put the toll in France at at least 18 dead, including two children who died in a hot car in the south of the country. French civil security said at least 13 people drowned over the weekend, and Le Figaro counted ten drowning deaths on Sunday alone. CNN described the heat as Europe's second heat-dome-driven furnace in two months.