Experiences
Residents and summer travellers alike are searching for ways to stay safe and cool as the continent swelters amid a heat wave. Here are some tips.
When summer temperatures become intense, shaded public spaces and cooling stations can provide a practical way to cool down. (Photo: iStock/Krystof Sasek)
02 Jul 2026 05:44AM
European residents and summer travellers alike are searching for ways to stay safe and cool as the continent swelters amid a historic heat wave, its second in just two months.Urgent heat warnings have been issued in more than a dozen countries. The heat has disrupted rail lines in Britain, forced popular sites like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower to close early, and caused power grid failures in France, leaving more than 68,000 homes without electricity.France recorded its hottest days ever on Jun 23 and Jun 24, according to the country’s weather agency, Meteo-France. The agency compared the heat wave’s severity to that of August 2003, when a 16-day hot spell caused 70,000 deaths across Europe.
