Germany braces for 42C peak as record-breaking heatwave pushes east; France tallies dozens of deaths

A mass of scorching air that has gripped western Europe for days is pushing eastwards, bringing record-breaking heat to Germany, Poland and the Balkans. France, Britain, Switzerland and Germany have all set all-time June highs, and forecasters warn the most extreme conditions are yet to come in central Europe.

Germany swelters through record heat

Germany provisionally recorded its hottest ever temperature of 41.3C on Friday near Saarbruecken, close to the French border. The national weather service, Deutscher Wetterdienst, expects temperatures to reach 42C on Saturday, with severe heat warnings covering nearly all of the country. In Dormagen, a nursing home was evacuated after indoor temperatures hit 35C; one resident died overnight, though a city spokesperson said it was unclear if the heat was the direct cause. Infrastructure is buckling under the strain: sections of the A2 Autobahn outside Berlin burst, forcing closures, and Bild newspaper reported highway damage nationwide. Deutsche Bahn urged passengers to avoid non-essential travel and offered free cancellation for long-distance tickets until early next week.

Germany's transportation infrastructure is being severely affected by the record-breaking heat this weekend.

Organisers of Sunday's Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt shortened both the cycling and running courses because of the heat.

The heatwave is going to peak at the weekend, well over 40 degrees in some parts of Germany.

France counts the toll

France has borne the heaviest casualties. Dozens of people, both young and old, have died, many from drowning as they sought relief in unsupervised waters. The Paris public hospital authority, AP-HP, activated its emergency response plan across all 38 hospitals on Friday evening after treating nearly 3,000 patients in 24 hours, a third more than normal, with a large proportion over 75. Calls to medical dispatch centres were up nearly 80% compared with the same period in 2025. Three-quarters of France was placed under a red alert for extreme heat on Thursday and Friday, with Paris hitting 40C. The Pride march scheduled for the capital was postponed at police request to ease pressure on emergency services. Although the peak has passed in some French regions, hospitals remain under intense pressure.

Wider European impact and movement east

Most of Poland was under a heat warning on Saturday, with temperatures above 34C and forecasts of up to 39C on Sunday and Monday. Italy's health ministry issued its highest-level red alert for 18 cities, including Rome, Milan, Turin and Florence, with highs of 39C expected. Switzerland warned of "high danger" extreme heat around Zurich, Basel and Lausanne, and alerts covered Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The UK recorded its third consecutive June record on Friday, 37.3C at Santon Downham in Suffolk, though cooler conditions are spreading. In Budapest, organisers of the Pride march said it would go ahead despite 38C heat, aiming to send a message to Hungary's new government after last year's ban under Viktor Orbán.

This year's Pride will send an important signal to the new government: these issues are still relevant, and we still face exclusion in many areas of life.

Climate links and what comes next

Scientists said this early-summer heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" before man-made carbon emissions, and that night-time temperatures this week were 100 times more likely than they would have been two decades ago. The extreme weather is driven by an Omega block, a pattern that traps a dome of hot air over the continent. The worst of the heat is expected to fade from late Sunday, but heavy thunderstorms, with a risk of hail and flash flooding, are forecast across Germany and northwestern France as the block breaks down.