June 23, 2026
Three elderly people died as extreme temperatures hit France, and 13 swimmers were reported drowned as they tried to escape a heatwave that swept on across Europe, where authorities issued warnings for the days ahead.
Thousands of schools in France closed or modified timetables on Monday and forecasters in Britain predicted temperatures could smash records for June this week.
"We’re heading for, at the very least, several days of very, very hot weather. We don’t know when temperatures will start falling," French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on TV channel TF1.
"Swim only in places that are supervised," French Civil Safety service spokesperson Jerome Boulanger said after reporting the drownings from Sunday into Monday. Such deaths spiked 58 percent in France last year as swimmers tried to cool off.
