A relentless heatwave which shattered June temperature records in Spain and Portugal is baking large parts of Europe, prompting authorities to suspend outdoor work in the hottest part of the day in over half of Italy’s provinces and overloading hospitals, transport networks and tourist infrastructure.
Temperatures exceeding 46 °C in Spain’s Huelva province and 46.6 °C in Mora, Portugal, delivered the hottest June ever recorded in both nations, meteorological agencies said. Spain’s average of 23.6 °C was 3.5 °C above the 1991‑2020 norm.
Italy is bearing the brunt. Lombardy and Emilia‑Romagna on Tuesday joined 11 other regions from Liguria to Sicily in banning open‑air work between 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. after a construction worker collapsed and died near Bologna. Emergency admissions have risen to 20 %, mostly elderly patients with dehydration, while two builders in Vicenza are in critical condition. In Palermo a 53‑year‑old woman who has a heart condition collapsed and died, while a seven‑year‑old child in Catalonia is thought to have died of heatstroke.
Elsewhere, severe heat has given rise to secondary threats. A 70‑year‑old man drowned at a holiday resort north of Turin after storms swept in behind the heat, and the Alpine resort of Cogne has been sealed off by a landslide. France’s SNCF canceled trains through the Mont‑Cenis tunnel following ferocious thunderstorms, and Turkey’s blazes have displaced tens of thousands.
Almost 1,900 French schools were closed entirely or partially, with Paris urging parents to send kids home as the capital reached 38 °C. Visitors had restricted access to monuments: the top of the Eiffel Tower, Brussels’ Atomium and sections of Rome’s archaeological sites shut early.
Meteorologists have issued warnings that the heat dome, labeled “Bettina” in Germany, will drive thermometers close to 40 °C across the continent this week. Coastal regions and Alpine summits alone could experience limited relief, forecasters said, highlighting demands by unions and industry groups for climate-resilient workplaces, care homes and schools.
