heatwave

Europe’s heatwave summer could wipe out entire EU growth, bank estimates

Successive heatwaves are battering Europe's economy this summer, forcing nuclear power plants offline, choking river transport on the Rhine, and driving energy prices sharply higher across a continent already strained by US tariffs, Chinese competition, and the Iran war.

  • 3 mins

Britain’s wildfires hit record levels as Europe’s fifth heatwave rages

Europe's fifth heatwave of the summer is affecting more than 300 million people across the continent, lasting longer than the deadly 2003 heat event that killed tens of thousands, while wildfires in Britain have reached record levels and severe drought…

France puts heatwave toll at up to €15B as EU losses mount

Europe's record-breaking summer of extreme heat threatens to wipe out an entire year of economic growth across the bloc, with new research estimating cumulative losses of around €180 billion — roughly 1% of EU GDP and nearly equivalent to the…

Europe braces for solar eclipse power dip amid heatwave grid strain

Europe's electricity system faces a dual challenge on Wednesday evening as a solar eclipse sweeps across the continent, temporarily knocking out up to 9.7 gigawatts of solar power generation at a time when an ongoing heatwave has already pushed grid…

Fifth heatwave sends European power prices surging

A fifth summer heatwave gripping Europe has driven electricity prices sharply higher across the continent, with French and German day-ahead power contracts jumping more than 20% on Tuesday as extreme heat simultaneously curbs generation capacity and fuels cooling demand.

Western Europe hit hottest June-July on record, EU monitor says

Western Europe experienced its hottest June-July period on record, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced Monday, as the continent battles devastating wildfires and braces for yet another heatwave amid a summer of escalating climate extremes.

Record European heat disrupts supply chains, markets

Record temperatures across Europe are compounding pressure on food prices, supply chains, and heavily indebted economies, with analysis suggesting total economic losses from extreme heat could reach €800 billion as the continent grapples with its worst summer of wildfires and…

Europe’s summer power prices hit winter peaks amid unprecedented heatwave

An unprecedented heatwave gripping Europe this summer has driven electricity prices to levels typically reserved for the coldest winter months, straining power grids across the continent as cooling demand surges and generation capacity drops simultaneously.

Europe wildfires kill 3 Greek firefighters as 330,000 flee across continent

Wildfires raging across southwestern France and Spain have driven roughly 330,000 people from their homes and vacation sites, while three Greek firefighters were killed on Wednesday as the crisis spread eastward across the continent amid Europe's fourth summer heatwave.

France evacuates 220,000 as wildfire nears Bordeaux

A massive wildfire in France's Gironde region has burned an area four times the size of Paris, displacing 220,000 people in that region alone, while Spanish authorities warned they faced "absolutely decisive days" to control blazes west of Madrid before…

France evacuates 40,000 from Cap Ferret as wildfires sweep southern Europe

French authorities ordered the complete evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula on Friday as a wildfire burning in southwestern France threatened the popular tourist destination, while Spain declared a state of emergency in the Madrid region amid its own devastating…

European gas prices hit March highs on heatwave, Hormuz crisis

European natural gas prices surged on Monday, with the Dutch TTF front-month contract rising to 59.83 EUR/MWh — up more than 4% from the previous session and 42.83% over the past month — as renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities reignited fears over…

EU household cooling energy doubled in six years, Eurostat data shows

Energy consumed by EU households for cooling doubled between 2018 and 2024, reaching 80,400 terajoules, according to data published by Eurostat on Tuesday. The surge underscores the growing strain on European energy infrastructure as the continent grapples with its hottest…

June heatwave may have killed 20,000 in Europe, study estimates

A record-shattering heatwave that engulfed Europe in late June has pushed Swiss glaciers past their annual tipping point weeks earlier than normal, while a rapid-attribution study found that $15.6 trillion in economic activity was exposed to heat conditions intensified by…

EU-China trade tensions collide with heatwave AC boom

As Europe endures what scientists have called its worst recorded heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 40°C from Spain to Poland, manufacturers in China, India, and Turkey are racing to meet an unprecedented surge in demand for cooling appliances — even as…

July heat threat keeps European power prices elevated

European energy markets remain under pressure as the continent enters July with power prices elevated and natural gas futures climbing, after weeks of record-breaking heat that drove electricity costs to levels not seen since the 2022 energy crisis.

European gas prices climb as heatwave and Qatar disruption squeeze supply

European natural gas prices climbed to their highest levels in over two weeks on Tuesday, as the continent grapples with the twin pressures of constrained LNG supply from Qatar and surging electricity demand driven by a prolonged heatwave.

Europe’s deadly heatwave exposes AI data center climate risks

A record-breaking heatwave that has swept across Europe over the past week, killing more than 1,300 people and shattering temperature records in at least a dozen countries, is exposing the vulnerability of the continent's rapidly expanding AI data center infrastructure…

Europe heatwave kills over 1,300 as Paris morgues run out of space

Every few minutes, calls come in from families desperate to find space for their dead. Paris mortuaries have reached full capacity as France's record-breaking heatwave — which has been linked to roughly 1,000 excess deaths in the country — forces…

Chinese AC exports to Europe surge amid record heatwave

As France endured its worst recorded heatwave, with classroom temperatures reaching as high as 44°C, a Paris district leader took matters into his own hands — ordering 50 Chinese-made Haier air conditioners for public schools and igniting a broader conversation…

North Atlantic ‘cold blob’ linked to Europe’s record heat dome

As a historic heat dome continues to shatter temperature records across Europe, scientists are pointing to an unlikely accomplice: a persistent patch of cold ocean water in the North Atlantic that may be amplifying the continent's extreme heat.

Scientists say jet stream block, not El Nino, drives Europe’s deadly heatwave

As a deadly heatwave continues to grip Western Europe, with temperatures soaring more than 18°C above seasonal norms and at least 50 fatalities reported in France alone, climate scientists are pushing back against media narratives linking the extreme heat to…

Study warns European incomes could fall 27% as deadly heatwave shatters records

As Europe endures one of its most severe early-summer heatwaves on record, a new study warns that the economic toll of such events on households is far greater than previously understood — and set to worsen dramatically without aggressive climate…

Record heatwave drives air conditioner sales surge across Europe

The European Commission is preparing modernised EU Energy Labels for heating and cooling appliances designed to make it easier for consumers and installers to identify efficient models, according to the Commission's own policy guidance. The move comes as Europe's record-breaking…

Belgian electricity price tops €1,000 as heatwave batters Europe

A record-breaking heatwave gripping western Europe has driven Belgian electricity prices to their highest level ever recorded, with quarter-hourly spot prices surpassing €1,000 per megawatt-hour as cooling demand surged and generation sources struggled to keep pace.

May was world’s second-hottest on record, Copernicus reports

The world experienced its second-hottest May since records began, with an unusually early and severe heatwave scorching Western Europe as climate extremes become the "new normal" on the continent, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service reported on Wednesday.

Sinner’s French Open upset throws men’s draw wide open

The 2026 French Open has been thrown into turmoil by a punishing European heatwave, with six players forced to retire mid-match and 13 withdrawing before play began during the tournament's opening days at Roland Garros. The disruption reached a peak…

Greece shuts Acropolis as heatwave grips country

Greek authorities temporarily shuttered the Acropolis on Tuesday afternoon as a punishing heatwave engulfed the country, with temperatures soaring to 42C (107F) in eastern regions and prompting emergency worker protections across multiple areas.