While temperatures in our country remain at normal or even slightly below average levels for this time of year, the rest of Europe is still grappling with a relentless heatwave that, although showing signs of weakening today, has shifted eastward. On Tuesday (July 1, 2025), southern France saw temperatures surpassing 40°C, with Paris reaching 38°C. However, today, the red alert—the highest level—remains active only in four regions in central France.
A similar situation unfolded in the UK. Now, it’s Germany’s turn to face extreme heat, with temperatures expected to reach up to 38°C in Berlin.
Belgium is also experiencing intense heat, with temperatures exceeding 35°C. The Atomium, the iconic structure in Brussels, remains closed to visitors until today due to the high temperatures.
Although heatwaves are not new after decades of excessive use of coal, oil, and natural gas contributing to global warming, these extreme weather events are occurring earlier in the summer and often lasting into early autumn, affecting school operations. In France, the lack of air conditioning in classrooms sparked political debate, with the National Rally (far-right) calling for a response plan.
Nearly 1,900 schools in France without cooling equipment remained closed yesterday, about 3% of all schools. In others, classes were held outdoors. Schools in Rotterdam, Netherlands, closed earlier than usual, while in Germany there is an established policy called “hitzefrei”—school holidays due to extreme heat—that dates back to the 19th century.
Open parks overnight, enhanced care for the most vulnerable, extended pool hours: the city of Paris activated level 4—the highest—of its heatwave response plan.
Spain, where air conditioning is more common, is also suffocating from the heat. Today, temperatures remain extremely high—close to 45°C—although thunderstorms are expected. In the Lleida province of Catalonia in northeastern Spain, firefighters reported finding two bodies after a wildfire broke out.
Earlier in Catalonia, police confirmed that a two-year-old boy left in a car parked in the sun died. In Madrid, “everyone is talking about the heat,” said 62-year-old Carlos Alberto Olivares, who sells newspapers from a metal kiosk where the temperature far exceeds 36°C, the temperature recorded yesterday in the Spanish capital. “It’s like an oven now, and in winter like a refrigerator,” he explained.
July has just begun, but the TV network Canal Sur already upheld its annual tradition and managed to fry an egg by placing it on the asphalt road in Seville.
It will take months to assess the death toll caused by the heat, but the heatwaves of 2022 and 2023 caused 70,000 and 61,000 premature deaths across Europe, according to studies.