France records hottest day ever as 40 drown seeking relief from heatwave

France has recorded its hottest day on record as a severe early summer heatwave sweeps across Europe. At least 40 people have drowned in France since June 18, 2026, after swimming in unsupervised areas to escape temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. The extreme heat, driven by an atmospheric 'Omega block' drawing hot air from the Sahara, has forced the early closure of the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, triggered a reactor shutdown at the Golfech nuclear plant, and prompted red alerts across Spain and the United Kingdom.

France record heat wave

• ▪France recorded its hottest night since measurements began in 1947 from June 22 to June 23, 2026, with an average temperature of 21.6 degrees Celsius
• ▪Météo-France placed 54 departments under a red heatwave alert, which was scheduled to expand to 58 departments on June 24, 2026
• ▪France recorded its hottest day on record on June 23, 2026, with the national thermal indicator reaching 29.8 degrees Celsius

Climate change extreme weather

• ▪The European heatwave is driven by an Omega block weather pattern that traps a slow-moving bulge of hot air drawn from the Sahara
• ▪Europe is warming at more than twice the global average rate according to the World Meteorological Organization

Heat wave drowning deaths

• ▪Three elderly people aged 80 to 95 died in the Bordeaux region of France from heat-related health issues over the weekend preceding June 23, 2026
• ▪At least 40 people drowned in France over a five-day period starting June 18, 2026, while swimming in unsupervised areas to escape the heat
• ▪Two children, aged 2 and 4, died on June 22, 2026, after locking themselves inside a car in Carpentras, France, prompting an involuntary manslaughter probe

Infrastructure service disruptions

• ▪The Eiffel Tower closed early at 4:00 p.m. on June 23, 2026, due to the extreme temperatures
• ▪The Louvre museum shortened its opening hours, closing at 4:00 p.m. from June 24 to June 27, 2026, due to heat vulnerability
• ▪Staff at the Golfech nuclear plant in southwestern France shut down a reactor on June 22, 2026, because cooling water from the River Garonne exceeded 28 degrees Celsius

UK heat alerts

• ▪The UK Met Office issued a red extreme heat warning for June 24 and June 25, 2026, with temperatures forecast to reach 39 degrees Celsius
• ▪Dozens of schools in England closed early or adjusted timetables on June 23, 2026, due to the heatwave

Spain heat alerts

• ▪On June 22, 2026, 101 of Spain's 828 weather stations recorded temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or higher, with a peak of 45 degrees Celsius in Andújar
• ▪Spain's weather agency, Aemet, issued red alerts for temperatures of 44 degrees Celsius in southern Andalusia and 40 degrees Celsius in Cantabria and the Basque Country