On June 24 (local time), the UK recorded the highest temperature in June, reaching 36.1 degrees Celsius in southern England when a heat dome covered most of Western Europe.
The UK's record temperature was recorded after the second extreme heatwave warning was issued. Hundreds of schools have closed or shortened school hours as officials warn that high temperatures could be dangerous even for healthy people.
The temperature of 36.1 degrees Celsius reported by the Meteorological Office in Gosport, Hampshire exceeded 35.6 degrees Celsius - the June record set in 1957 and repeated in 1976. London Climate Action Week was also interrupted, and the organizers had to cancel an event due to scorching heat.
The city's railway network was affected by heat, including delays and speed limits on London's main subway lines and some travel services were canceled. Some trains in Wales were also canceled due to record heat.
The temperature in Paris reached a record June of 40.9 degrees Celsius, one day after France recorded the hottest day since starting recording data nearly 80 years ago, when the temperature peaked at 44.3 degrees Celsius in the southwest town of Pissos.
In France, at least 48 people drowned in an effort to cool their bodies when the heat wave occurred. 2 more young children died in cars from the heat.
Spain recorded 2 elderly deaths from heatstroke after days of temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, although the weather began to ease on June 24 after the hottest days of June in history, according to the national meteorological agency AEMET.
The scorching temperature caused hundreds of thousands of poultry on poultry farms in Brittany and Pays de la Loire to die.
French nuclear power plants - which supply most of the country's electricity - have cut production by about 7% of total demand due to high temperatures limiting cooling water sources.
The Italian Ministry of Health placed 16 cities - including Florence, Milan, Rome, Turin and Verona - in the highest heat warning and warned that the heat wave could be even more intense, peaking around June 28 and 29.
The "culprit" of this heat wave in Western Europe is a weather pattern called the Omega mass, pushing temperatures up to 18 degrees Celsius above normal, according to Reuters Climate Monitor.
The Omega block is shaped like the word Omega in Greek, with the middle bulging to retain heat in the areas for a long time, while the peripheral area is cooler. Hot spells and storms are increasing due to climate change.
The Meteo-France meteorological agency said that the current weather conditions are equivalent to the 16-day heatwave in August 2003. The French weather forecast agency said that the weather conditions are expected to continue to be hot and humid on June 25, and at the same time expand the red weather warning to 72 districts across the country.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, Europe is heating up at twice the global average rate, making prolonged heat waves increasingly likely to occur.
