Europe swelters under heatwave with record start to summer
June 30 (UPI) -- Europe is sweltering under an intense heatwave, as temperatures soar across Spain, Portugal, France and Italy for one of the hottest summer starts ever recorded.
Spain is experiencing its hottest June on record. On Saturday, El Granado in Andalusia hit 114 degrees Fahrenheit. In Portugal, the heat registered close to 116 degrees in Mora.
"Over the next few days, at least until Thursday, intense heat will continue in much of Spain," said Ruben del Campo, a spokesperson for the national meteorological service AEMET.
In Turkey, wildfires burned for a second day, as strong winds fanned the flames near Izmir, and forced the evacuation of more than 50,000 people. Fires also broke out in Croatia and Greece amid extreme temperatures.
Heat warnings were in effect in 16 cities in Italy, including Rome and Venice, and across 16 French regions, including Paris. Paris, which is seeing a record number of tourists, was placed on the country's highest "red" heat alert. Other regions remained under an "orange" alert. Nearly 200 schools throughout France are closed or partially closed.
Government officials in Italy planned to ban open-air work during the hottest part of the day, as tourists sought refuge in fountains.
The heat is also being felt in Germany, where temperatures are expected to top 100 degrees this week. The heatwave is being blamed for lowering water levels on the Rhine River, the country's major shipping route. And heat alerts were issued for England and Wales, where milder temperatures are more common.
The United Nation's human rights chief blamed the heat on climate change and warned Monday that heatwaves will become more common if human causes are not reined in.
"Rising temperatures, rising seas, floods, droughts and wildfires threaten our rights to life, to health, to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and much more," Volker Turk told the UN's Human Rights Council.
Excessive temperatures throughout Europe are typically reserved for summer's hotter months of July and August, as UN Secretary General António Guterres called for "more ambitious Climate Action now," during a UN conference in Seville.
"Extreme heat is no longer a rare event -- it has become the new normal," Guterres wrote in a post on X.
"I'm experiencing it firsthand in Spain during the Financing for Development Conference," he added. "The planet is getting hotter and more dangerous -- no country is immune."
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This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 11:29 PM