The Polish capital, Warsaw, saw a high of 38 degrees Celsius on Sunday – Image: Jaap Arriens/Sipa USA/picture alliance
The World Health Organization (WHO) said over 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded in Europe since the record-breaking heat wave started around June 21. Germany logged yet another heat record at 41.7 degrees Celsius.
What you need to know
- France has reported at least 1,000 more deaths than average during the heat wave
- Germany saw yet another day of extreme heat, especially in the east
- The ‘heat dome’ currently over Western Europe is forecast to move to Central Europe and the Balkans
- A new rapid study says Europe’s record heat wave would have been ‘virtually impossible’ without man-made climate change
Heat wave: Poland, Czech Republic register temperature records above 40 degrees Celsius
Poland and the Czech Republic both set record temperatures on Sunday of above 40 degrees Celsius as Europe continues to grapple with a sweltering heat wave.
The village of Doksany — which lies some 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the Czech capital, Prague — recorded a temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius (107.4 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Czech meteorological institute CHMI.
“This is the first time we have ever registered a temperature of 41 degrees in our official weather station network,” CHMI said in a post on X.
The announcement comes after a record-breaking 40.9 degrees on Saturday.
It added that the Czech Republic had seen an inflow of warm air from the southwest, leading to an increase in temperature and a new record on Sunday.
Heat wave: Western Poland could break record from 1994
Meanwhile, neighboring Poland saw a record 40.5 degrees Celsius recorded in the town of Slubice, which straddles Poland’s western border and is linked to its German twin city of Frankfurt (Oder), according to operational and telemetry data.
Poland’s IMGW meteorological institute said that, if confirmed, this would beat the last record of 39.5 degrees Celsius which was registered in Slubice in July 1994.
Poland’s highest recorded temperature in history was 40.2 degrees Celsius in 1921, registered in the ciy of Opole in the Silesia region, which at the time was part of the German Reich.
Temperatures of above 40 degrees Celsius are traditionally highly atypical for countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius were followed by severe thunderstorms in Belgium – Image: Nicolas Tucat/AFP
Germany logs yet another heat record at 41.7 C
For the third consecutive day, the DWD German Weather Service has reported a record temperature measurement.
Sunday’s new high mark was recorded in the small rural settlement of Coschen in Brandenburg.
The hottest temperatures have moved east in recent days and now sit over states like Bradenburg and Saxony.
The provisional measurement, which is still subject to a check from the DWD, stood at 41.7 degrees Celsius, or just over 107 degrees Fahrenheit.
On Saturday, a reading of 41.5 degrees Celsius was recorded in Drewitz in Saxony-Anhalt, and that figure was matched again on Sunday in Bad Muskau in Saxony on the Polish border.
On Friday, the first provisional record temperature, 41.3 degrees Celsius in the western city of Saarbrücken, kicked off the wave of new entries.
Over 1,300 excess deaths in Europe during heat wave, WHO says
Over 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded in Europe since June 21, around the time the record-breaking heat wave started, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday.
“Right now 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
He added that “more than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded since 21 June linked to high temperatures in Europe.”
Ghebreyesus said the UN organization was working with its member states and partners to address the health threats posed by extreme heat. Work involves “focusing on preparedness, prevention and stronger health system responses” and encouraging countries to implement “heat health action plans.”
“Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’ — and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures,” he said.
1 killed in Belgium in post-heat severe thunderstorms
Severe thunderstorms which arrived on the heels of a heat wave in Belgium have left one man killed, Belgian media reported.
The man died after a tree fell upon his car near Brussels on Saturday night.
The fire brigade in the capital received nearly 100 calls to deal with flooded roads and fallen trees. However, a fire service spokesperson was cited by the French AFP news agency as saying no injuries were reported.
Temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius were recorded in Belgium over the past week, much like the rest of Europe. This was followed by night-time storms which swept across the whole country, with wind gusts of up to 108 kilometers per hour, according to the Royal Meteorological Institute.
Asphalt and concrete melted and clogged up the tramlines and points in multiple locations around Leipzig – Image: Heiko Rebsch/dpa/picture alliance
Germany: Leipzig halts trams after heat melts asphalt
No trams are currently running in Germany’s eastern city of Leipzig.
The soaring temperatures have melted asphalt and otherwise damaged the tracks and points in multiple locations around the city.
The Leipzig Transport Authority (LVB) initially suspended services until late on Saturday night, but subsequently extended the stoppage throughout the weekend.
The heat has caused the joint sealant for asphalt and concrete in points and tracks to run and clump together. The company said it was not currently safe for trains to operate.
Buses were still running largely according to schedule in the city of well over half a million people southwest of Berlin.
At least 191 million people to face 35 degree Celsius — report
French news agency AFP has estimated that at least 191 million European residents will endure temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit and above on Sunday, as the current heat wave moves eastward into central and eastern Europe.
The heat is forecast to be particularly intense in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, per AFP estimates.
A total of 381 million people in Europe, excluding Turkey, will see temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius.
The AFP analysis and predictions are based on forecasts from the German Meteorological Service and 2025 population projections from the Joint Research Center collated by Austrian NGO Klima-Dashboard.
DW.com/NAN 29-06-26
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