A woman covers her head with a hand fan in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. Photo by AP
A punishing early summer heatwave that has already scorched western and southern Europe spread east Wednesday, bringing extreme weather warnings to Germany and reportedly causing motorways to buckle, according to AFP.
Germany's national weather service (DWD) warned of "exceptionally high" temperatures reaching close to 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) in places Wednesday.
In Berlin, 18-year-old Nora said her strawberry stand on the side of the road felt "like a sauna" before temperatures had even reached their peak.
Her boss had told her to close the stall if she felt unwell, as the German capital sweated under a hot sun, Nora told AFP.
The heat was causing disruptions to transport, with Germany's national rail operator Deutsche Bahn warning of impaired services in the west of the country, where temperatures were highest.
In the northwest, close to the city of Bremen, the heat had caused the surface of the motorway to buckle in places, creating a danger for drivers.
The acute high temperatures added to an extended period of unusually hot and dry weather through the first half of the year.
A firefighter works on extinguishing a forest fire near Brandenburg, as the country was hit with an extreme heat wave. Photo by AP
Europe's continuing heat wave on Wednesday helped fuel a deadly wildfire in Spain while the European Union presented plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under scorching temperatures.
The blaze that broke out late on Tuesday created an enormous, thick plume of ash and smoke that rose 14,000 meters (45,000 feet) into the sky, making it the largest registered by firefighters in Catalonia, a northeastern region of Spain.
Two farmers were killed while apparently trying to flee in a vehicle, AP reported.
People cool off bathing in small natural swimming pool on the Adda river, at the Leonardo Da Vinci Eco museum in Porto D'Adda, near Milan, Italy, July 2, 2025. Photo by AP
Outdoor work was banned in some Italian regions during the hottest hours of the day as Italy issued heat wave red alerts for 17 cities, including Milan and Rome.
Power outages, likely caused or aggravated by spiking electricity consumption from air conditioners, were reported in central Florence and in the northern city of Bergamo. In Sicily, a woman with a heart condition died while walking in the city of Bagheria, according to Reuters.
On July 2, the Italian Labor Ministry and union representatives signed a document outlining measures to protect workers in agriculture, construction, and other outdoor industries from the dangers of high temperatures.
A giraffe licks a treat in an ice cube at the zoo of Vincennes outside Paris during a heat wave, Wednesday, July 2, in Paris. Photo by AP
France's national weather agency, Météo-France, has maintained a red alert for four provinces due to extreme temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in several cities, according to Reuters.
The affected departments are Aube, Cher, Loiret, and Yonne. The summit of the Eiffel Tower in Paris was closed due to the heatwave, and authorities are urging vigilance for vulnerable populations.
Climate experts warn that future summers are likely to be hotter than any recorded to date, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius expected every year by 2100, AP reported.
The image captures a scene during a heat wave in Basel, Switzerland, on July 1, showing hundreds of people floating down the Rhine River in the evening. Photo by AP
A security guard shelters from the heat outside the Cabinet Office in London, July 1. Photo by AFP
The U.K. weather agency, the Met Office, is predicting that temperatures in many areas of the U.K. will reach 35 degrees Celsius in July, according to the British Red Cross and the U.K. government.
Two children were taken by their grandparents to eat ice cream to cool off in Copenhagen. Photo by AFP
Heat wave engulfs the Danish capital, with temperatures in some areas reaching 30 to 35 degrees Celsius on July 2.
