The heat wave sweeping Europe intensified across the continent on Monday, forcing authorities in many countries to issue warnings and take emergency measures to protect the elderly and other vulnerable populations.
In Britain, the Met Office issued a rare red warning for extreme heat, its highest alert level, indicating a real danger to life. The warning will take effect on Wednesday and remain in place until Thursday across large parts of central and southern England, including London and Birmingham.
In France, 49 of the country's 96 mainland departments were placed under the highest heat alert, with temperatures expected to climb to 43 degrees Celsius in Bordeaux in the southwest and 39 degrees Celsius in Paris, according to the French meteorological service. The night between Sunday and Monday was the hottest recorded in France since 1945, with a nationwide average minimum temperature of 21.96 degrees Celsius (71.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Deaths in France are already mounting. Among the 13 people who have drowned since Saturday were several minors. Three elderly people, aged 80 to 95, died in their homes in the Gironde region on Sunday from health distress attributed to the heat. On Monday, two children, aged 2 and 4, were found dead in the family car in the southeastern city of Carpentras. Some 845 schools were closed Monday because of the heat, while around 1,800 others dismissed pupils early.
"Last week it was 32 degrees in the classroom with the children, and it's only going to get worse, while the supermarket across the road is cool and air-conditioned," a teacher in the Bordeaux area, who asked not to be identified, told AFP. "Everyone thinks this is normal, but one day we'll be studying between the supermarket shelves." Forecasters are warning that the current heat wave could rival the severity of the one in August 2003, which killed nearly 15,000 people in France.
The current heat wave is once again forcing France to confront a question it has wrestled with for years: whether to install air conditioners or continue avoiding them. France has one of the lowest rates of air conditioning in Europe, and about three-quarters of its households have none at all. As of 2025, air conditioning was installed in only about 27% of private homes and about 12% of apartments. The reluctance is based mainly on three arguments: the high financial cost, environmental opposition to increasing electricity consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, and claims of alleged health damage.
Yet the heat wave is sending French consumers in droves to electrical appliance stores. Air-conditioner sales surged by about 61% in May compared with last year, and some models have already sold out. The pressure is also being felt in schools, in the middle of the matriculation exam season. Authorities in the Île-de-France region announced Monday that the region would allocate 1 million euros ($1.16 million) to 500 schools serving as exam centers so they can buy fans, misters and other cooling equipment ahead of oral exams beginning Wednesday.
Already last summer, against the backdrop of a previous heat wave, the issue sparked a political battle between rival camps. Marine Le Pen, leader of the right-wing National Rally party, called for a major national program to install air conditioners. Éric Ciotti, chairman of the Union of the Right for the Republic party, backed her and called for priority to be given to schools, hospitals and nursing homes. His party even submitted a bill that would require air conditioning in "priority" public spaces. The right framed the move as a matter of public health and protection for the vulnerable, accusing the left of sacrificing citizens' comfort for the sake of the climate.
The battle has not subsided this year. This week, the Greens proposed giving workers up to five days a year of "climate leave" during extreme heat, but the proposal was rejected both by the right and by employers. The head of France's largest employers' organization called it "a bad answer to a real question."
Supporters of air conditioning have a weighty argument: Heat waves do kill. According to the French public health agency, thousands of people die in France each year from the effects of heat. Air-conditioning advocates argue that heat waves endanger lives, harm productivity and hit the weakest populations hardest, meaning air conditioning should be made accessible at least to the most vulnerable.
Opponents, meanwhile, argue that widespread use of air conditioning would increase electricity consumption and worsen the "urban heat island" effect, because air conditioners expel heat from homes into the surrounding environment, thereby feeding the very warming they are meant to relieve.
Even those who are already convinced often run into obstacles. In shared apartment buildings, bylaws sometimes bar the installation of air conditioners without residents' approval. In historic city centers and protected buildings, architectural restrictions prohibit external units on street-facing facades. In addition, the electrical infrastructure in older buildings is not always equipped to handle new air conditioners, and those who do receive approval are sometimes required to conceal the units so as not to harm the urban appearance, further increasing installation costs.
Still, the heat appears to be winning out. In the hotter regions of southern France, the trend is already clear: About 42% of households in the southeast and about 33% in the southwest are already equipped with air conditioning. Despite a long-standing tradition of reluctance rooted in environmental, aesthetic and energy-consumption concerns, worsening heat waves are forcing more and more French people to reconsider their opposition.
The heat wave is affecting the entire continent. In Belgium, the coming week is expected to be the hottest ever recorded in the country. In Spain, the weather service warned of extreme heat by day and night, with temperatures reaching 44 degrees Celsius in some areas. Portugal has also recorded unusually high temperatures, which in the north and center of the country approached historic records.
