Heat wave brings record highs of over 40ºC to Central Europe

Vienna/Budapest/Bucharest, Jun 29 (EFE).- The heat wave sweeping across Europe has moved eastward, with Central European cities exceeding 40ºC (104°F),resulting in about 30 deaths and missing persons reported in Germany and Romania.

Hungary is facing the worst days of the heat wave on Monday and Tuesday, with temperatures nearing the all-time high of 41.9°C (106°F), water restrictions in several towns, wildfires, and hospital problems due to air-conditioning failures.

At noon on Monday, temperatures reached 41.6°C (106°F) near Budapest, and the country’s second-largest river, the Tisza, dropped to historic lows due to the heat.

The government has asked companies to allow employees to work from home and has urged citizens to limit the use of household appliances between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm to reduce electricity consumption.

In Romania, which is also on red alert due to highs of up to 41°C (104°F) and lows between 17°C (62°F) and 25°C (77°F), the heat wave has already claimed three lives, including that of a 17-year-old girl who drowned while swimming.

The high temperatures have forced the postponement of college entrance exams until Wednesday.

All-Time Records in Central Europe

At 27.3°C (81°F), Vienna experienced its hottest night on record this Monday; the Austrian capital also reached 40°C (104°F) for the first time on Sunday, the highest temperature ever recorded in the country, which has maintained standardized measurements across its territory since 1851.

In Germany, 26 people have died or gone missing in rivers, lakes, and swimming pools over a weekend that broke three consecutive temperature records, reaching an all-time high of 41.7°C (106°F).

The heat wave also set the highest nighttime temperature on record in Germany on the night from Saturday to Sunday: 29.4°C (48.4).

After eleven days of record-breaking high and low temperatures, France lifted its highest heat alert on Sunday; however, 22 of its 96 departments remain on orange alert.

This episode has resulted in a preliminary death toll related to the extreme heat of 1,000 more deaths than usual since Wednesday, coinciding with the midpoint of the heatwave.

On Friday, the United Kingdom recorded a new June temperature record of 37.7°C (99°F).

Extreme Heat in the South

In Italy, 22 cities are under a red alert on Monday due to the heat wave, a number that will rise to 25 between Tuesday and Wednesday, exceeding 38°C and 40°C (100-104°F) in parts of the country.

Mainland Portugal is facing a spell of hot, dry weather starting today and lasting through July 5, with highs ranging from 40°C to 43°C (104 -109°F) in the Tagus Valley and the Alentejo on Thursday, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere.

Minimum temperatures will also rise across the country: they will exceed 20°C (68°F) in inland areas starting Tuesday and in the rest of the regions starting Thursday.

In light of this situation, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X on Sunday that, since Jun. 21, more than 1,300 excess deaths related to high temperatures have been recorded in Europe.

He also noted that currently 150 million Europeans are living in extreme heat.

In this regard, the European Commission has not ruled out the possibility that air conditioning and building cooling could become a matter of political debate within the European Union (EU).

This “nearly unprecedented” heat wave has caused deaths and damage and led to various disruptions in several EU countries, underscoring “the importance” of climate policy and the energy transition, said European Commission Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho on Monday.

The European Environment Agency also warned that climate risks are affecting food security, energy, infrastructure, and water resources across the continent. EFEdel-sr/mcd