Europe Endures Record Heatwave: Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic Set New Highs

Europe experienced extreme heat on Saturday as a heatwave, linked to dozens of deaths, spread eastward, setting new temperature records. Germany, Denmark, and the Czech Republic recorded preliminary all-time highs, while Switzerland saw a new June record. Earlier in the week, France and Britain also broke records.

Scientists attribute the heatwave to man-made climate change, stating that current night-time temperatures are 100 times more likely than two decades ago. Katrin Goering-Eckardt, a German lawmaker, called it a «health crisis.»

Germany recorded a preliminary 41.5 degrees Celsius in Moeckern-Drewitz, Saxony-Anhalt, surpassing the previous day's 41.3 degrees near Saarbruecken. Denmark's Meteorological Institute reported 37 degrees north of Aarhus, the highest since 1874. The Czech Republic measured 40.9 degrees north of Prague. Bratislava, Slovakia, had its hottest night on record on Friday. Authorities issued extreme heat warnings across Germany and Poland.

The heat affected infrastructure, with Germany's Deutsche Bahn allowing long-distance travel cancellations and a motorway near Hamburg partially closed due to asphalt splitting. Nuclear power plants in Hungary (Paks) and Switzerland (Beznau) cut output or shut down reactors due to high river temperatures. Italy issued red alerts for 18 cities, and the River Po's flow dropped dramatically. The Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt shortened its courses. The heatwave is expected to fade over the weekend with thunderstorms.