Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Europe endures dayslong heatwave with temperatures to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Two children discovered dead in car in France, likely due to the heatwave
- Britain’s Met Office issues rare red warning for heat starting Wednesday, with London and Birmingham affected
Follow along for more through the day and this week for the latest developments on the June 2026 European heatwave:
Skip next section Two children found dead in car in sweltering southern France06/22/2026June 22, 2026
Two children found dead in car in sweltering southern France
Two children aged 2 and 4 were found dead in a car in the southern town of Carpentras, with investigators suspecting the deaths are the result of the heatwave.
Temperatures on Monday were expected to hit as high as 38 degrees Celsius (101 degrees Fahrenheit) in Carpentras.
French authorities have warned parents not to leave their children in unattended vehicles.
Much of France is under the “red alert” for heat, with temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius forecast for some regions.
Meteo France said several towns in western and central France experienced their hottest night ever Sunday to Monday.
Paris experienced its hottest-ever night for June, with the temperature not dropping below 24.2 C (75.5 F).
The French capital broke another June record with 37.7 C (99.9 F) recorded Monday afternoon.
https://p.dw.com/p/5FrvBSkip next section What’s the latest on the European heatwave?06/22/2026June 22, 2026
What’s the latest on the European heatwave?
Here’s a short summary in bullet points of the latest on Monday as Europe bakes under a heatwave:
- Europe is currently under a high-pressure system known as a ‘heat dome,’ that keeps hot air in place
- Parts of Germany are seeing high temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit)
- In France, two children died in a car in the southern town of Carpentras, where temperatures had been expected to reach 39 degrees Celsius
- French forecasters have warned this year’s scorching temperatures could be as serious as the 2003 heatwave, where 15,000 people in France died
- The UK’s top meteorological authority issued the highest level of heat warming for parts of central and southern England for Wednesday and Thursday
- Parts of northern Portugal are under orange weather alerts due to high temperatures
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https://p.dw.com/p/5Frt1Skip next section Welcome to our coverage 06/22/2026June 22, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Europeans this week are suffering under a scorching “heat dome,” with some parts of the continent not expected to see relief until next Monday.
Follow along with DW this week as we look at how the heatwave is impacting people in Europe and society.
Many Europeans, particularly in the northern part of the continent, do not have air conditioning in their homes, making the heat phenomenon even more unbearable and in some cases deadly.
Stay tuned for more!
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