On June 23, temperatures reached 44.3°C in Pissos (Landes) and 42.1°C in Bordeaux, making it France’s warmest day since observations started in 1947. Temperatures in the UK reached the upper 30s. According to the UK’s Met Office, the nation may set a new daily temperature record in June. June temperatures in Spain were also almost unprecedented, hitting 41°C in places like Ciudad Real and Lleida.
Authorities in the UK and throughout Europe have issued alerts due to severe weather patterns, with exceptionally high temperatures predicted to peak in some areas soon.
According to the Met Office, the powerful high-pressure region over continental Europe is responsible for this abrupt increase. The UK may not be affected widely, but it is vulnerable to a “more complex and variable pattern” due to its geographic location between “very warm continental air and cooler air.”
Despite officials’ cautions regarding unaccompanied swimming, 40 drowning deaths have been reported in France in the last week as people seek refuge in rivers and other bodies of water. According to Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, young people were involved in the majority of the drownings.
According to Meteo France, the heat wave has reached what it called a “plateau of severity,” with constant heat throughout the day and night. As the heat extends throughout more than half of the nation, including the northernmost tip of France, an increasing number of areas will turn red once more on Wednesday, according to the weather service.