GENEVA, Switzerland: The world must adapt to living with increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, the United Nations’ weather and climate agency warned on Tuesday, as much of Europe endured high summer temperatures.
The World Meteorological Organization said that in future, people could expect heatwaves to occur more often and be more intense because of human-induced climate change.
WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis said July was traditionally the hottest month of the year in the northern hemisphere, but it was exceptional, though not unprecedented, to have episodes of extreme heat this early in the summer.
She said extreme heat was “widely called the silent killer”, with the death toll often under-reflected in official statistics, compared to, for example, a tropical cyclone.
“It’s important to stress that every single death from heat is unnecessary: we have the knowledge, we have the tools; we can save lives,” she added.
Western Europe is sweltering under the influence of a strong high pressure system, Nullis told a press briefing in Geneva.
“This is trapping hot air from northern Africa over the region, and as we can see it’s having a pretty big impact on the way we feel and the way we are acting,” she said.
A major factor in the heatwave is the exceptional sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean.
“It’s the equivalent of a land heatwave. The Mediterranean Sea is suffering a pretty extreme marine heatwave right now, and that tends to reinforce the extreme temperatures over land areas,” Nullis said.
She said the urban heat island effect was exaggerating the situation in cities, with a lack of greenery to absorb the heat and concrete surfaces reflecting it.
The WMO said early warnings and coordinated action plans were crucial to protect public safety, and meteorologists were getting better at both.
“As a result of human-induced climate change, extreme heat is becoming more frequent, more intense. It’s something we have to learn to live with,” Nullis said.
She added: “What can we expect in the future? More of the same, even worse.”
Heatwave grips Europe
Meanwhile, both Portugal and Spain recorded their hottest June ever as scorching temperatures continue to grip Europe.
Spain’s national weather service Aemet said the country’s “extremely hot” June 2025 “has pulverised records”, surpassing the normal average for July and August.
The Portuguese meteorological service said 46.6C was the highest temperature recorded in June.
Elsewhere on the continent on Tuesday, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated because of wildfires in western Turkey, while two people died in Italy following separate heat-related deaths.
Overnight, the Aemet meteorological agency said that several places across the Iberian peninsula had topped 43C, but added that a respite in temperatures was on its way from Thursday.
Night-time temperatures recorded overnight into Tuesday hit 28C in Seville and 27C in Barcelona.
In France, many cities experienced their hottest night and day on record for June on Monday, but forecasters have said the heatwave is expected to peak on Tuesday.
The top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris has been closed because of the intense European heatwave, while Climate Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher called it an “unprecedented” situation.
For the first time in five years, the Paris region has activated a red alert, along with 15 other French regions. The Ministry of Education has said 1,350 public schools will either be partially or completely closed on Tuesday.
In Italy, the Tuscany region has seen hospital admissions rise by 20%, according to local reports.
Italians in 21 out of the 27 cities have been subjected to the highest heat alert and 13 regions, including Lombardy and Emilia, have been advised not to venture outside during the hottest periods of the day.
Temperatures in Greece have been approaching 40C for several days, and wildfires hit several coastal towns near the capital Athens, destroying homes and forcing people to evacuate.
Parts of the UK were just shy of being one of the hottest June days ever on Monday.
The highest UK temperature of the day was recorded at Heathrow Airport in London at 33.1C. Meanwhile, Wimbledon recorded a temperature of 32.9C, the tennis tournament’s hottest opening day on record.
In Germany, the country’s meteorological service warned that temperatures could reach almost 38C on Tuesday and Wednesday – further potentially record-breaking temperatures.
