An unseasonably intense early heatwave has gripped Western Europe this week, bringing historic temperature highs, disrupting public services, and prompting urgent emergency preparedness assessments across multiple nations. On Wednesday, Portugal logged a new all-time May temperature record when the central town of Mora hit 40.3 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous national May benchmark of 40C set back in 2001.
The extraordinary heat has not been confined to Portugal. Forecasters confirm the high-pressure system driving the heat — known as a “heat dome,” which traps warm air in a stagnant block — is projected to maintain sweltering conditions across the region through the weekend. Germany, Spain, and Switzerland have already recorded temperatures far above average for this time of year, while heat alerts have been issued across populated areas of France and Italy.
In France, 17 departments including Paris and parts of the northwest are currently under orange heat alerts, urging residents to exercise heightened vigilance against heat-related health risks. Temperatures in the capital are forecast to hit 33C on Thursday, and climb to 34C for both Saturday and Sunday. To reduce urban heat buildup and traffic congestion, Paris police have implemented temporary traffic measures: only low-emission vehicles are permitted on city roads through Saturday, speed limits have been lowered, and discounted flat-fare tickets are being offered across the entire public transport network to encourage people to leave private cars at home.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu chaired an emergency ministerial meeting Thursday afternoon to coordinate government preparations for the extreme heat, with priorities including wildfire suppression and safeguarding drinking water supplies through the summer months. The heatwave has already forced school closures across parts of the country: a local official confirmed a primary school in Souston, in the Landes region, will remain closed Thursday and Friday after indoor temperatures hit 53C earlier this week.
A particularly contentious issue has been the decision to proceed with the national Baccalaureate exams, France’s high-stakes secondary school leaving qualification equivalent to British A-levels. Education officials have defended the move, noting that students have spent months preparing for the exams and the rigid result timeline cannot easily be adjusted. Exam centers have been instructed to use the shadiest available rooms for testing, but education unions and teaching staff have roundly criticized the decision. A survey conducted by France’s secondary school union found that nearly 78% of schools recorded indoor temperatures above 30C this week, with reports of teachers bringing in personal fans from home and even using screwdrivers to pry open stuck windows to improve ventilation.
The extreme heat has also impacted high-profile sports events taking place in France. At the French Open in Paris, world men’s number one tennis player Jannik Sinner was forced to withdraw from the tournament mid-match after suffering severe dizziness and lethargy brought on by the high temperatures. Though Sinner downplayed the impact of the heat after his exit, saying “It was just me today, but it happens,” the incident has drawn renewed attention to the risks of extreme heat for outdoor athletic competition.
To the south, Italy has issued its first red heatwave alerts of the year for major cities including Rome, Florence, Bologna, Brescia and Turin. The highest alert level warns that the heat could pose negative health effects even for healthy, active people. Temperatures in Rome are projected to peak at 32C on Thursday, while Madrid will see highs climb to 35C over the weekend. Spanish meteorological officials note that while the current hot spell does not meet the official definition of a heatwave for the country, the temperatures are consistent with the peak summer conditions normally seen in July and August.
Portugal’s meteorological service forecasts that temperatures in most parts of the country will stay above 35C through Thursday and Friday before the heat dome begins to weaken and temperatures gradually recede. While no single weather event can be definitively linked directly to human-caused climate change, climate scientists emphasize that global warming is steadily increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events across the globe.
Data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service shows that Europe has warmed at a rate of 0.56C per decade over the past 30 years, a pace that has already made extreme heat events far more severe than they were a generation ago. On Thursday, the United Nations reinforced this warning, announcing that global average temperatures are likely to remain at or near record levels this year and over the next four years. All 11 of the hottest years ever recorded globally have occurred since 2015, and the UN’s World Meteorological Organization projects this trend will continue, with a new all-time hottest global year likely to be recorded before 2031.