Europe bakes in summer's first heatwave as the continent warms 28/06/2025

A man in Venice uses an umbrella to protect himself from the heat (Marco BERTORELLO)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Europe bakes in summer's first heatwave as the continent warms

Juliette Rabat with Clement Melki in Rome

Southern Europeans braced Saturday for the first heatwave of the northern hemisphere summer, as climate change pushes thermometers on the world's fastest-warming continent increasingly into the red.

Temperatures are set to rise to 37 degrees Celsius (99 Fahrenheit) in Rome, driving the Eternal City's many tourists and pilgrims to the Vatican alike towards the Italian capital's 2,500 public fountains for refreshment.

With residents of the southern French port city of Marseille expected to have to cope with temperatures flirting with 40C (104F), authorities in the city ordered public swimming pools to be made free of charge to help residents beat the Mediterranean heat.

Two-thirds of Portugal will be on high alert on Sunday for extreme heat and forest fires, with 42C (108F) expected in the capital, Lisbon, while visitors to -- and protesters against -- Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos's Friday wedding in Venice likewise sweltered under the summer sun.

"There is no wind, a lot of humidity, we are sweating, and I'm suffocating at night," Alejandra Echeverria, a 40-year-old Mexican tourist to Venice, told AFP on Saturday.

"I try not to think about it, but I drink a lot of water and never stay still, because that's when you get sunstroke," Sriane Mina, an Italian student, told AFP the day before.

Scientists have long warned that humanity's burning of fossil fuels is heating the world with disastrous consequences for the environment, with Europe's ever-hotter and increasingly common blistering summer heatwaves a direct result of that warming.

The heatwave is forecast to become even more intense on Sunday.

Spain, which has in past years seen a series of deadly summer blazes ravaging the Iberian peninsula, is expecting peak temperatures over 40C (104F) across most of the country.

- Outdoor work ban

According to the Spanish meteorological agency, temperatures may even register 42 °C (108°F) in some areas, including the Guadalquivir, Guadiana, and Tagus regions.

The past three years have been the hottest in Spain's history.

With peaks of 39C (102F) expected in Naples and Palermo, Sicily has ordered a ban on outdoor work in the hottest hours of the day, as has the Liguria region in northern Italy.

The country's trade unions are campaigning to extend the measure to other parts of the country.

In Nice, on the French Riviera, nearly 250 fans have been distributed to schools over the past two weeks to help cope with the heat.

The heatwave comes hot on the heels of a series of tumbling records for extreme heat, including Europe's hottest March ever, according to the EU's Copernicus climate monitor.

As a result of the planet's warming, extreme weather events, including hurricanes, droughts, floods, and heatwaves like this weekend's have become more frequent and intense, scientists warn.

By some estimates, 2024, the hottest year in recorded history so far, saw worldwide disasters that cost more than $300 billion.

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