Europe heat wave breaks records as temperatures move east

A punishing heat wave shattered temperature records across Europe on Saturday, sending Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic to their hottest days on record and straining hospitals, railways and roads as the extreme weather pushed east.

Germany recorded a new national high of 41.5C, or 106.7F, at the Drewitz station in the east, according to provisional data from the national weather service cited by Al Jazeera. The mark broke a record set only a day earlier in Saarbrucken. CBS News, citing AFP, reported Germany hit a record 106F on Saturday.

The German weather service issued extreme heat warnings for nearly the entire country, while authorities urged people to conserve water. In two places outside Berlin, sections of concrete on the A2 autobahn burst in the heat, forcing closures, CBS News reported, citing the German daily Bild. Other road damage was reported across the country.

Rail travel was also disrupted. Deutsche Bahn and other rail companies advised against nonessential travel over the weekend, and the national operator allowed customers to cancel long-distance bookings through early next week without charge. “Germany’s transportation infrastructure is being severely affected by the record-breaking heat this weekend,” Deutsche Bahn said in a statement cited by CBS News. The company also warned that sun exposure, thunderstorms and wildfires posed risks to signals, tracks and overhead wires.

In the western German city of Dormagen, dozens of nursing home residents were evacuated for medical care after temperatures inside the building reached 95F, the local fire department said, according to CBS News. A resident died overnight, but a city spokesperson told German news agency dpa it was not yet clear whether the heat was the cause.

Denmark recorded its hottest day since records began in 1874, with 37C, or 98.6F, measured in Odum, north of Aarhus, the Danish Meteorological Institute said. The previous Danish record was 36.4C, or 97.5F, set in August 1975.

The Czech Republic also set an all-time high. The national meteorological service reported 40.6C, or 105F, at a weather station in Doksany, north of Prague, surpassing the previous record of 40.4C set in 2012.

Switzerland recorded 101.8F in Basel, CBS News reported. The United Kingdom, France, Italy and Switzerland have all recorded record June temperatures, according to Al Jazeera. In Britain, the Met Office said a provisional 37.3C, or 99.1F, in Santon Downham, Suffolk, broke the country’s June record for the third day in a row. “Before this week, the UK’s 1976 record temperature for June of 35.6C (96F) had stood for 50 years, but – provisionally – it has been exceeded on three consecutive days this week,” Met Office climate spokesman Grahame Madge said.

France saw temperatures begin to ease in some areas after three-quarters of the country was placed under red alert on Thursday and Friday, but hospitals remained under pressure from heat-related emergencies including heart attacks, heatstroke and dehydration. The Paris public hospital authority activated its emergency response plan across all 38 hospitals and said emergency departments treated nearly 3,000 patients in 24 hours, more than a third above normal. Calls to medical dispatch centers were up nearly 80% compared with the same period in 2025.

Italy’s Health Ministry issued red alerts for 18 cities, including Milan, Rome, Turin, Venice, Genoa, Florence and Bologna, with temperatures expected to reach 39C, or 102F, in some areas.

The heat also forced changes to public events. Organizers of the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt shortened cycling and running segments scheduled for Sunday.

Al Jazeera, citing the Reuters Climate Monitor, reported the heat wave pushed temperatures as much as 18C, or 32F, above seasonal averages and was driven by an omega block, a pattern that traps hot air over regions for extended periods. The World Meteorological Organization said the heat wave would begin shifting by the end of the month toward Central Europe and the Balkans.