Over 1,300 dead as unprecedented heatwave scorches Europe

Europe’s devastating heatwave has spread across the eastern part of the continent, shattering long-standing temperature records in several countries, triggering emergency power cuts in Ukraine, and leaving more than 1,300 excess deaths in its wake.

The extreme weather, described as the most severe heatwave ever recorded in Europe, has continued to grip millions of people despite signs of easing temperatures in some western regions.

Slovakia registered its highest temperature on record after thermometers hit 41 degrees Celsius in the village of Turna nad Bodvou, southwest of the country’s second-largest city, Kosice, on Monday.

Neighbouring Czechia also rewrote its weather history, recording 41.9 degrees Celsius in Doksany on Sunday evening, surpassing the previous national record of 40.4 degrees Celsius set in 2021.

The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute described the development as unprecedented, noting that exceeding the previous record by 1.5 degrees Celsius was extraordinary. It also highlighted the unusually prolonged duration of the heatwave.

Hungary narrowly missed matching its all-time temperature record as the mercury climbed to 41.8 degrees Celsius on Monday, just 0.1 degrees below the country’s highest-ever reading recorded in July 2007.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar warned that the worst phase of the heatwave was still ahead, directing public sector workers to work remotely while urging private employers to adopt similar measures where possible.

According to AFP, more than 130 million people across Central and Eastern Europe experienced temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius on Monday.

Italy placed 22 cities under its highest-level red heat alert, while several regions in Croatia also issued severe heat warnings. The Balkans remain under intense heat conditions, with wildfires reported in Croatia, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In Ukraine, authorities introduced emergency power outages as soaring temperatures, forecast to reach between 35 and 38 degrees Celsius, placed unprecedented pressure on the country’s electricity grid.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) said more than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded across Europe since June 21 due to the ongoing heatwave.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that Europe is warming faster than any other continent, heating at twice the global average.

He described heat stress as a “silent killer,” stressing that many European homes, workplaces, and schools were not designed to withstand such extreme temperatures.

Scientists from the World Weather Attribution group noted that the heatwave was particularly unusual because June has historically not been the hottest month in Western Europe.

The researchers warned that the current crisis demonstrates how global warming of about 1.4 degrees Celsius is already pushing societies to the limits of their ability to cope with extreme heat.

Although temperatures have begun to decline across parts of Western Europe, meteorologists caution that the respite may be short-lived.

Italian Air Force meteorologist Daniele Mocio has forecast another surge of extreme heat beginning around July 5, expected to affect France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and parts of the United Kingdom.

Several countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany, have already recorded their hottest June temperatures on record, while France has also reported heat-related fatalities, underscoring the growing human toll of Europe’s unprecedented climate crisis.