![[AFP]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/20/news-p.v1.20260620.6de0c901c5fb41e6bd7927c72ef38422_P1.jpg)
A record-breaking heat wave not seen in 45 years is sweeping across Europe, disrupting daily life with train cancellations and school closures.
According to Bloomberg and AFP on Thursday (local time), temperatures in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and southern England are forecast to climb 5 to 12 degrees Celsius above seasonal norms this year.
Matthew Dross, a meteorologist at weather data analytics firm Vaisala, said the heat wave could push cooling demand across Europe to its highest level in 45 years.
France's national weather service said temperatures in Paris and some other parts of the country are expected to exceed 40 C through Sunday.
Orange alerts — the second-highest level on France's weather warning scale — have been issued for roughly a quarter of the country's territory, and authorities are urging the public to follow heat safety guidelines.
The heat wave is also affecting transportation and schools.
French national rail operator SNCF canceled 71 long-distance trains scheduled to run through Sunday to reduce the risk of air-conditioning failures caused by the extreme heat.
More than 10 middle schools in Paris adjusted their schedules for two days starting Thursday, and Emmanuel Denis, the mayor of Tours in west-central France, said he would close all 58 educational institutions in the city if temperatures hit 40 C.
Casualties have also been reported. According to AFP, a 30-year-old man was found in cardiac arrest on an outdoor athletics track in Ermont, a suburb north of Paris, on Thursday morning and later died. Authorities are investigating a possible link to the heat wave.
Energy supply is also under strain. EDF, France's state utility, said it plans to limit output at the Saint-Alban nuclear power plant starting this weekend as river water temperatures rise.
Under French safety regulations, nuclear plants must keep the temperature of water discharged after use as coolant below a set threshold. The recent heat wave has raised river temperatures to the point where output adjustments have become unavoidable, EDF said.
EDF warned that other nuclear plants, including Blaye and Golfech, could also be affected by the heat wave from June 23.
Orange heat alerts are also in effect in Britain, France, Italy and Spain. A red alert — the highest level — has been issued for areas in northern Switzerland near Basel, Bloomberg reported.
Experts are pointing to climate change as the driving force behind the increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves in Europe. Extreme heat that was once confined to southern Europe is now spreading to central and northern parts of the continent, and calls are growing for governments to strengthen heat response systems across energy, transportation and public health.
rainbow@heraldcorp.com
