PARIS: Western Europe was in the grip of a heatwave on Wednesday that claimed dozens of lives, disrupted power supplies, shut schools and cultural landmarks, as forecasters warned the extreme temperatures could persist until the end of the week.

Smashing previous records, Britain logged its highest temperature for June, reaching 35.8 degrees Celsius (96.26 degrees Fahrenheit) in southern England as a heat dome hovered over much of Western Europe.

France recorded its hottest day since records began nearly 80 years ago, when temperatures peaked at 44.3 C in the southwestern town of Pissos on Tuesday. On Wednesday, temperatures in Paris hit 40.9 C, a June record.

Italy’s health ministry placed 16 cities including Florence, Milan, Rome, Turin and Verona on its highest heat alert, and warned the heatwave could intensify further, peaking between Sunday and Monday. At least 48 people have died in France from drowning since the onset of the heatwave while trying to cool off, authorities said, and two young children were killed by heat in a car.

Spain reported two elderly people had died of heatstroke after days of temperatures exceeding 40 C, though conditions there began to ease on Wednesday following the hottest late-June days on record, according to national weather agency AEMET.

Scorching temperatures killed hundreds of thousands of birds at poultry farms in Brittany and the Pays de la Loire, agricultural groups said.

France’s nuclear power plants, which supply most of the country’s electricity, cut output by about 7pc of total demand as high temperatures limited access to cooling water.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2026