Europe swelters as more heat records set to tumble

High temperatures are set to shatter records across Western Europe as a severe and prolonged heatwave grips the continent. France is particularly affected, with hundreds of schools forced to alter their timetables to cope with the sweltering conditions. Forecasters warn that Paris could experience its first-ever June day with temperatures above 40C.

Authorities across Europe are issuing urgent warnings about the extreme weather. Germany anticipates thunderstorms, hail, and heavy rain alongside the heat, while Ireland recorded its hottest May on record last month. England and Wales have also experienced their hottest spring ever, though Britain's temperatures are not expected to reach the continental extremes.

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we're seeing more extremes of temperatures, we're breaking records more frequently

Scientists confirm that human-caused climate change is intensifying such weather events, leading to more frequent and severe heatwaves, droughts, and floods. This current heatwave, already the second of the year for many, signifies a hot start to summer for tens of millions. Nations including Britain, France, Spain, Switzerland, and Germany, along with parts of northern and central Italy, have raised their alert levels.

Switzerland has already seen its hottest June temperature in Schaffhouse at 35.7C, with further rises expected. Alex Deakin from the UK Met Office noted that hot spells are becoming hotter and rainy spells rainier due to climate change. France, at the epicenter of the current heat surge, has already endured its hottest spring since records began in 1900.

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When you get hot spells, they're that much hotter. And when you get rainy spells, they're that much rainier