Authorities in Spain on Monday confirmed the country’s highest-ever June temperature, as an ongoing heat wave pushed the mercury at one point on Saturday to 46 degrees Celsius (115 F).
The record was set in Huelva, near the border with Portugal, topping the previous record of 45.2 C set in 1965 in the nearby city of Seville.
The record-breaking temperatures come as a “heat dome” continues to sit over Western Europe, a weather phenomenon during which a high-pressure system holds dry, hot air in place over an extended period of time.
On Monday, health authorities issued red alerts in parts of Spain, warning vulnerable groups to avoid being outside during the afternoon.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was in Seville for the UN’s Conference on Financing for Development, said he was experiencing the heat wave “firsthand.”
“Extreme heat is no longer a rare event. … It has become the new normal,” Guterres said in a post on X.
In Guterres’ home country, Portugal, authorities are still confirming if a reading on Sunday of 46.6 C in the town of Mora east of Lisbon is indeed a new June heat record.
On Monday, Portuguese authorities issued a red heat warning for seven districts, with forecast temperatures of 43 C.
Germany up next
The extreme heat is expected to push northward, with Germany bracing for scorching temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In southwestern Germany, temperatures already edged close to 35 C on Monday.
The heat wave in Germany is expected to peak on Wednesday, with some areas in the south expected to near 40 C, while most of the rest of the country is expected to experience 30+ C temperatures.
On Monday, the German national weather service confirmed that June temperatures in Germany were on average 18.5 C, which is 3.1 C warmer than the international reference period of 1961 to 1990.
Southwestern Germany was particularly affected by the high temperatures. Average rainfall was also lower.
Paris on red alert
Most of France is currently baking in extreme heat, which, as in other parts of northern Europe, is exacerbated by the general lack of air conditioning.
“This is unprecedented,” said Agnes Pannier-Runacher, France’s ecology transition minister, on Monday.
For Tuesday, French weather authorities said Paris and 15 other departments are to be placed on “red alert,” the highest weather warning level.
In the Aude region on the southwest Mediterranean coast, the first large forest fire of the season has burned through 400 hectares (988 acres) of woods. A nearby campground was evacuated, and water-dumping aircraft and around 300 firefighters have been mobilized.
Wimbledon when it sizzles
As the heat wave reaches into the southern UK, tennis grand slam Wimbledon saw its hottest-ever opening day on Monday.
Meteorologists on Monday recorded a provisional 29.7 C at nearby Kew Gardens in southwest London. That would beat the previous record for a Wimbledon opening day, which was 29.3 C set on June 25, 2001.
At the tournament venue, a high temperature of 33 C was also recorded. Tournament organizers call for breaks between the second and third sets of women’s matches or between the third and fourth sets of men’s matches when the mercury climbs above 30.1 C.
Temperatures were forecast to reach 34 C in London and southeast England Monday, where authorities have also issued heat alerts.
A cold front later in the week is expected to provide relief from the record-high temperatures.
Edited by: Zac Crellin
