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Some 130 million people in Central and Eastern Europe endure temperatures above 35C (95F) as heat records set.
Published On 30 Jun 2026
Europe’s deadly heatwave has broken records in the east of the continent, with Czechia and Slovakia recording their highest-ever temperatures, and Ukraine ordering power cuts to deal with the strain.
Slovakia recorded a high of 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday in the village of Turna nad Bodvou, southwest of the country’s second-largest city, Kosice.
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Czechia reached 41.9C (107.42F) in Doksany in the country’s northwest on Sunday evening, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said. The previous record was 40.4C (104.72F) in 2021.
“Breaking the record by 1.5 °C is absolutely unprecedented,” the institute noted, adding that the “length of the heatwave is also exceptional”.
In Hungary, temperatures reached 41.8C (107.24F) in the centre of the country on Monday, just shy of its highest-ever record of 41.9C (107.42F) in July 2007.
Prime Minister Peter Magyar warned on Monday that “the two hardest days of the heatwave are coming.” Public sector workers have been told to work remotely, with other employers encouraged to do the same.
At least 130 million people in central and Eastern Europe experienced temperatures of more than 35C (95F) on Monday, the AFP news agency reported.
In Italy, 22 cities were placed under red heat warnings, as were several regions in Croatia, while the Balkans also remain under extreme heat. Wildfires have been reported in Croatia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A man refreshes himself during a heatwave in Chamonix, France, June 25, 2026 [Pierre Albouy/Reuters]Most severe heatwave on record
The heatwave that started in Western Europe last week has been the most severe ever recorded on the continent.
More than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded since June 21, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Although temperatures are coming down in Western Europe, more heatwaves are likely throughout the summer. A surge of hot weather is expected from July 5 in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and parts of the United Kingdom, Italian Air Force meteorologist Daniele Mocio has said.
“Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Sunday. “Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’ – and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures.”
In Ukraine, emergency power outages were enforced in response to the intense heat, with temperatures of between 35-38C (95-100.4F) forecast.
The World Weather Attribution group of scientists have said the heatwave is “particularly remarkable given that June is not historically the hottest month in Western Europe”.
“This summer shows that at 1.4°C of global warming, extreme heat is already reaching the limits of our societies’ ability to cope,” they said.
