Climate & Environment
Europe heatwave brings alerts, fires and drought
Europe is facing another summer heatwave, with parts of Britain and France under extreme heat warnings on Monday, drought restrictions widening and new fires burning in Greece and Spain.
Forecasters expected temperatures around the mid-30s Celsius in parts of Britain and France. Unusually high temperatures were also forecast in the coming days for countries less used to the heat, including Switzerland, Austria and Hungary.
In Britain, the Met Office warned that the summer's fifth hot spell was taking hold. Nearly three-quarters of England and all of Wales were officially in drought, and more than 27 million people were under water-use restrictions. The environment department said all regions were under pressure on water resources.
In France, Meteo-France warned that the southeast could reach 35C, with heat spreading further through the week. The environment ministry said nearly 70 percent of French territory was subject to water-use restrictions, with water reserved for priority uses in the most at-risk areas.
Fires added to the pressure. Greece reported a second fire this season near Athens, after more than 10,000 hectares of pine forest were burned by a blaze that began 10 days earlier northwest of the capital. In southwestern Spain, firefighters were trying to contain a growing blaze that local officials said had forced about 800 people to evacuate.
An AFP analysis of Copernicus climate data said 95 percent of mainland France and 99 percent of Switzerland saw drought conditions in July, record shares since the European Drought Observatory began collecting such data in 2012. Another AFP analysis found that nearly 120 million Europeans lived in regions where July 2026 was the hottest ever recorded.
Heat and drought have also pushed rivers lower across Europe. Industry groups warned that the Rhine in Germany could fall so low it becomes unnavigable, and Polish officials said the Vistula matched its record low in Warsaw on Monday.
AFP reported last month that at least 12,000 excess deaths were recorded across nine European countries during one June heatwave, a toll that could rise as more data is released.
Update
Parts of Britain and France were under extreme heat warnings on Monday, with temperatures around the mid-30s Celsius forecast.
More than 27 million people in Britain were under water-use restrictions, while nearly three-quarters of England and all of Wales were officially in drought.
France said nearly 70 percent of its territory was subject to water-use restrictions, with southeast temperatures forecast as high as 35C.
Greece reported another fire near Athens, while a fire in southwestern Spain had forced about 800 people to evacuate.
AFP analyses said nearly 120 million Europeans lived in regions where July 2026 was the hottest on record, and at least 12,000 excess deaths were recorded across nine European countries during one June heatwave.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 16:43:36 UTC.
Update
An AFP analysis of data relayed by Copernicus found record-low July average flow rates along 95 percent of monitored Thames portions, 85 percent of the Rhine and about two-thirds of the Danube.
The analysis said the levels were the weakest July discharge figures since at least 1992, when EFAS began such measurements.
The Rhone saw record lows on about 30 percent of its length, and the Po on about 40 percent of its course.
EDO data showed the Rhine was in the most severe drought level almost continuously since early June along much of its course from the Swiss mountains to western Germany.
The Danube was especially affected across Hungary, and the river's drying nearly forced Hungary to shut its only nuclear power plant.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 15:37:02 UTC.
Update
Firefighters were struggling to contain a rapidly expanding blaze in southwestern Spain that had forced the evacuation of about 800 people.
Local officials said the weather was offering no respite for the Spanish fire response.
Low Danube levels had made Hungary and Romania consider shutting nuclear plants in late July, but both avoided doing so for now.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 13:21:36 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Forecast temperatures and river navigation risks may change as weather conditions develop.
The full heat-related death toll could rise as more data is released.
The supplied material does not establish the causes of the individual fires in Greece and Spain.
Source
AFP news report published on .