Europe bakes in unprecedented heatwave, at least 11 dead

Europe is facing a record-smashing heatwave this week and is the world's fastest-warming continent. The unusual heat was also having tragic consequences, with authorities in England reporting that four teenagers had drowned since Sunday in separate incidents. and stretches into an even more rapidly heating Arctic.The UK's heatwave broke the hottest ever in May record for the second day in a row on Tuesday, with the temperature hitting 35 degrees Celsius in London. The figure is the highest daily maximum temperature recorded by the UK Meteorological (Met) Office for the month, beating Monday's record high of 34.8 degrees Celsius, which had already toppled the 1944 record of 32.8 degrees Celsius.At least 11 people have died in Britain and France, mostly due to drownings as people seek relief. 

The U.K. smashed a century-old temperature record for the second time in 24 hours on Tuesday as a spring heat wave continued to scorch parts of Western Europe, triggering government warnings about risks to life. Several drownings were reported in Britain and France as people… pic.twitter.com/LrRjchTpiz

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 26, 2026

After record high temperatures for May were broken in Britain, Ireland and France on Monday and Tuesday, the continent still faces more brutal heat in the coming days. A so-called "heat dome" of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the sort of heat not usually seen until high summer.
Seven people have died in France directly or indirectly due ‌to a heat wave, Junior Energy Minister ‌Maud Bregeon said on Tuesday, which has become the hottest ​day in May recorded in French history, according to the national weather service. The national heat index, which measures the average temperature across the country, ‌reached 24.8 degrees ⁠Celsius, Meteo France’s preliminary readings at 5 pm on Tuesday showed. This beat ⁠24.6 degrees Celsius on Monday and thus marked the hottest day ever recorded in the month of ​May nationwide. ​Five of the ​seven fatalities were people ‌drowning in lakes, rivers or beaches, Bregeon said.
Scientists say human-caused climate change is causing European heatwaves to occur earlier in the year and become more extreme.The unseasonable heat extended to Spain, where weather service spokesperson Rubén del Campo said: "We find ourselves with temperatures we normally see in the middle of the summer now in the month of May". He said Seville hit 38C over the weekend, while large parts of the Iberian Peninsula saw temperatures 5 to 10 degrees Celsius higher than normal.