Lifeguards keep watch from their station over a packed lake beach during a heatwave at the Bordeaux Lac beach, in Bordeaux, south-western France on June 23, 2026.
Tens of millions face a weekend of extreme temperatures in Europe as a deadly heatwave moves eastwards, with German forecasters warning that more records could be broken and eastern countries issuing a slew of red alerts for the coming days.
AFP analysis suggested almost 200 million would face temperatures of more than 35 °C on Saturday as an unprecedented hot spell that has already seen records tumble in Britain, France, and Switzerland drags on.
Scores of people have died either through heat-related illness or drowning accidents, and emergency services in several countries have said their facilities are saturated.
Street parties and music festivals were cancelled in France, Germany and the Netherlands -- though Pride Marches were set to go ahead in Budapest and Munich despite the extreme heat warnings.
