Firefighters kept a vast wildfire in southwest France in check overnight into Tuesday (July 28, 2026), bringing flare-ups near Atlantic coast dunes under control in a crucial reprieve before returning heat and falling humidity threaten to test their hold on the blaze.

The fire remained stabilised at 6 a.m. after a calm night and the burned area was unchanged at 420 sq. kilometres, the Gironde prefecture said. The emergency now stretches across southwestern Europe.

Fires in France have forced roughly 3,30,000 people to evacuate, while Spain entered its fourth heat wave of the summer on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) with several blazes still out of control, including the largest ever recorded in the country.

In France, several flare-ups were detected overnight north of Le Porge and in dunes north of Cap Ferret but were brought under control by firefighters, authorities said. “We are at a point of fragility,” Eric Brocardi, spokesperson for France’s national firefighters federation, told BFMTV on Tuesday (July 28, 2026). “We will continue attacking this fire despite the forecast rise in temperatures.” The areas lie along the Atlantic coast west of Bordeaux, where crews have battled the blaze since it erupted near Saumos last week.

The overnight calm did not mean the danger had passed. The fire remained stabilised rather than fixed, meaning it could still spread again. The blaze, raging since last week, has been wildly unpredictable, transforming at times into a self-feeding firestorm as it burned through an area four times the size of Paris and forced 220,000 people to evacuate homes and vacation accommodation. Even after 24 hours without further advance, officials warned that smouldering vegetation, rising temperatures and falling humidity could produce fresh outbreaks along the vast perimeter.

Firefighters and military engineers resumed work early Tuesday (July 28, 2026) on tactical firebreaks designed to prevent the flames from spreading. Authorities said 103 Km of firebreaks had been completed. Ninety-three firefighters have been injured while battling the blaze, the prefecture said. The A63 highway remained partly closed, while rail traffic south of Bordeaux was suspended except on the route toward Toulouse.

Thousands return as progress is made on second fire

The overnight holding action in Gironde contrasted with a clearer sign of progress in neighbouring Landes, where thousands of evacuees were allowed home after a separate wildfire was fixed. The fire had displaced more than 30,000 residents and vacationers.

“The fire is fixed, which is good news in the Landes,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday (July 28, 2026) evening. Regional authorities said that meant its advance had been stopped and no new fires were breaking out.

About 15,000 people were authorised to return home on Monday (July 27, 2026) night in Sanguinet, Parentis-en-Born and some parts of Biscarrosse. Residents of Biscarrosse’s aviation village and a large campground were among those allowed back, although several other neighbourhoods remained inaccessible.

The return marked a significant step for communities that emptied as flames swept through forests and tourist areas during the height of the summer vacation season. Authorities warned that the Landes fire was not extinguished. Residual hot spots, wind and drought could cause flare-ups, and surveillance and damping-down operations were expected to continue for days or possibly weeks.

Heat returns

The gains in both fire zones faced an immediate test on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) as temperatures began climbing again.

France’s national weather service placed Gironde under a yellow heat warning from midday, forecasting inland temperatures of 33°C to 35°C. Southeast winds were expected across the department, with westerly sea breezes along the coast. More than 116,000 hectares have burned across France so far this year, according to the Interior Ministry.

Western Europe recorded its hottest June on record, with extreme heat and widespread dryness helping fires spread and intensify in France and Spain, the European Union’s Copernicus climate service said.

Spain braces for worsening states

Hundreds of firefighters backed by military emergency brigades and water-dropping aircraft continued battling several major wildfires in Spain, including the largest ever recorded in the fire-prone country.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) that nonstop work through the night left him “reasonably positive,” but warned that conditions could deteriorate as temperatures rose again. Spain’s national weather service said the country was entering its fourth heat wave of the summer on Tuesday (July 28, 2026), with temperatures expected to exceed 40°C in some areas.

Authorities have evacuated some 79,000 people and ordered another 30,000 to remain in their homes during an unprecedented crisis that prompted the government to declare a national emergency for wildfires for the first time. The greatest concern remained two large fires that had at times come close to merging into a single mega-blaze in wooded hills about an hour’s drive west of Madrid. Another fire in the eastern province of Castellon also forced mass evacuations.

A fire burning through hilly, rural terrain in Avila, west of Madrid, has become Spain’s largest on record, scorching more than 500 sq. kilometres, the government said. That is five times the size of Barcelona. “Look at how the valley is burned. Look at the houses, the people,” said David Gonzalez, a 48-year-old gardener who used his van to deliver supplies to firefighters in Avila. “We are feeling a lot of anger and helplessness. It’s something inhuman,” he said.

Fires have burned 1,530 sq. kilometres this year in Spain — six times the area scorched by blazes in the first half of 2025, said Sara Aagesen, the Ecology Minister. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called for a national pact to fight wildfires made worse by climate change.

Published – July 28, 2026 03:32 pm IST

Public Health France said in a new report there had been “an increase of 29.1%, corresponding to 2,025 additional deaths compared with the previous week” while noting that the figure was probably “an underestimate”.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

People cool off under a water curtain as Poland faces extreme heat, in Warsaw, Poland, June 28, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

France saw around 1,000 additional deaths last week at the height of its record-smashing heat wave, the country’s public health agency said on Sunday (June 28, 2026), as Europeans elsewhere were suffering through yet another day of new temperature highs that sparked wildfires in Germany and had Berlin police using water cannons to cool down the crowds.

Temperature records were toppled in several countries on the weekend as the heat wave slowly moved toward eastern parts of the continent.

In Germany, a new nighttime temperature record was reported on Sunday (June 28, 2026) from Kubschütz, in eastern Saxony, where the temperature did not drop below 29.4 degrees Celsius (84.9 Fahrenheit). The nightly record came only hours after a daytime record of 41.5 C (106.7 F) in Möckern-Drewitz in Saxony-Anhalt, according to preliminary data by the German Weather Service DWD. The previous record was set a day earlier.

A new study from the World Weather Attribution, a Europe-based collaboration of scientists, reported on Friday (June 26, 2026) that the record-breaking heat and humidity in Europe this week would not have been possible without climate change.

The rapid study found that the heat would have been virtually impossible just five decades ago, and is 200 times more likely today than it would have been 20 years ago.

France saw a surge in deaths last week at the height of its record-smashing heat wave, including a sharp increase in calls to private homes, especially in the Paris region, the national public health agency said on Sunday (June 28, 2026).

There were more than 1,200 deaths on Wednesday (June 24, 2026), when France was sweltering under its hottest temperatures ever, increasing to more than 1,400 deaths on each of the two following days, Public Health France said.

In April and May, before the heat wave, France’s rate of deaths was about 900 to 1,000 per day, it said.

The agency concluded that France experienced a total of at least 1,000 additional deaths during those three days alone, an estimate it cautioned is likely to increase as more data is collected, including for deaths at home.

The increase in deaths was sharpest in areas under red warnings of extreme heat, it said. Those warnings blanketed about three-quarters of the country at the peak of the heat wave. The agency said that 85% of the deaths involved people aged 65 and above.

In Gohrischheide, eastern Germany, a fire broke out in a large forest that’s still contaminated with World War II-era ammunition, making firefighters’ efforts to put out the flames even more dangerous and complicated.

Similarly, a major firefighting operation was underway in southwest Germany near the town of Traisen, where the heat sparked a forest fire in an area that also contained unexploded ordnance. Firefighting efforts had to be temporarily suspended after explosions occurred, and an ordnance disposal unit was brought in to assess the situation continuously, German news agency dpa reported.

In addition, the big cities’ fire departments were busy sending out ambulances to people suffering from heat-related illnesses. In Berlin, an additional 500 ambulance dispatches were reported on Saturday (June 27, 2026), most of them heat-related.

The German capital’s police found a unique way to help suffering Berliners and tourists alike. They put up two huge water cannons — usually used to disperse unruly protesters — in front of the city’s iconic Brandenburg Gate and sprayed the cool water across the cheering crowd.

The heat also continued to damage the country’s infrastructure, with the concrete surface on countless highways breaking up, and a weekend warning by national rail operator Deutsche Bahn to avoid all unnecessary train travel.

In the eastern city of Leipzig, no trams will be running until early Monday morning (June 29, 2026) due to heat damage to tracks and switches. The Leipzig Public Transportation Authority said that the high temperatures had caused the joint sealant for asphalt and concrete in switches and tracks to run and clump together in many places throughout the city’s network.

In Greece, in southeastern Europe, the country’s Civil Protection agency warned of a “very high fire risk” in five regions of the country on Sunday (June 28, 2026).

Wildfires are especially challenging in Greece, which has a dry mountainous mainland and over 100 inhabited islands, prompting authorities to introduce innovative space technology to help put them out quickly.

In Denmark, in northern Europe, which marked new temperature records on Saturday (June 27, 2026), the extreme heat was followed by heavy thunderstorms.

By Sunday morning (June 28, 2026), the country had recorded 1,156 lightning strikes, according to public broadcaster DR.

Published – June 28, 2026 05:29 pm IST

People cool off in the Trocadero fountain in front of the Eiffel Tower as temperatures rise in Paris during a heatwave affecting a large part of France, June 23, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Forty people have drowned while swimming in unsupervised areas in France since the weekend, the prime minister said on Tuesday (June 23, 2026), as people tried to escape a heatwave ‌sweeping across much of Europe.

Britain, Italy and Spain are also sweltering in extreme heat, with record temperatures in some regions disrupting schools and transport networks.

Europe is warming at more than twice the global average, according to ⁠the World Meteorological Organization, making such prolonged heat episodes increasingly likely.

The current heatwave is driven by a weather pattern known as an Omega block, because it takes the shape of the Greek letter, with a bulge of hot air in the middle and cooler air on either side.

Meteorologists say the system ‌is creating a so-called heat dome, trapping hot air over western and central Europe and allowing temperatures to build day after day.

Heatwaves and storms are being intensified by climate change, pushing temperatures higher and causing more rainfall.

Heat alert ‌across France

Much of France is under severe heat alert and set to experience temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on ‌Tuesday (June 23, 2026), ⁠Meteo France said, with temperatures of up to 43℃ expected in some parts of western France.

Across the country, ⁠youngsters and others have been jumping into canals and rivers to cool off. French sports minister Marina Ferrari said she understood the urge to escape the heat but warned against swimming in unauthorised or dangerous areas.

Speaking ahead of an emergency meeting on the heatwave, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said there had been 40 drownings attributable to the heatwave since June 18.

On Monday (June 22, 2026), first ‌responders were unable to resuscitate two children, aged 2 and 4, who were found unconscious by their mother in the family car outside their home, said a prosecutor in Carpentras, southeast France.

In one area of Paris, the municipality offered free cinema tickets to those under 25 or over 65, for a break in a place cooled by air conditioning.

Business activity slows

In Paris, people ‌on their way to work were visibly suffering from the heat, many carrying fans in the metro, after often broken nights due to sweltering temperatures in apartments ill-equipped for heat. Some trains were cancelled, including those between Paris and Brussels.

Business leaders said the economy was also taking a hit.

“France is running at a slow pace. Businesses, ⁠as far as possible, are implementing recommendations to protect their employees,” the head of France’s MEDEF employers’ group, Patrick Martin, told BFM TV. In several places across Paris, shops had run out of electric fans amid surging demand.

Britain, Italy, Spain, Belgium also hit by heatwave

In Italy, ‌the health ministry has issued its highest-level alert for 15 cities, and the government has taken measures to suspend or reduce their work in certain sectors.

After scorching mornings, storms are expected to form over the Alps and Apennines on Tuesday afternoon (June 23, 2026), bringing gusty winds, heavy rain and occasional hail, with some spreading into northern plains later in the day, meteorologists said.

Britain is also in the grip of the heat, with the Met Office forecasting temperatures of up to 37℃ in southern England on Tuesday (June 23, 2026), potentially a new June record, before rising further on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) and Thursday (June 25, 2026).

Dozens of schools have said they will close early, due to old buildings not being suitable for ‌classrooms with more than 30 children in.

Spain’s state meteorological agency has issued red alerts across parts of the country, warning of dangerous heat with temperatures expected to reach 44℃. The warnings follow an already extreme day on Monday (June 22, 2026), including a peak above 45℃ in Andujar.

Overnight conditions have offered little relief, with around 30 monitoring stations still recording temperatures above 25℃ early on Tuesday (June 23, 2026).

In Belgium, soaring ⁠temperatures forced a primary school in Tervuren, near Brussels, to relocate its final exams to a nearby church.

“Too hot in the classroom, then we’ll ⁠do the exams in the church,” the school wrote on its Instagram, posting footage of pupils taking their tests from rows of church chairs.

Disruption to transport

Transport systems across Europe came under strain. Britain’s Network Rail also warned that passengers ‌should only take essential train journeys on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) and Thursday (June 23, 2026), when temperatures are expected to peak at 39℃.

Services may be disrupted or slowed as operators impose speed restrictions to protect infrastructure.

Some transport routes were disrupted overnight due to a series of intense thunderstorms in London, including at Heathrow Airport.

Published – June 23, 2026 04:59 pm IST

France banned alcohol in red-alert areas on Sunday (June 21, 2026), Spain and Germany cancelled or postponed sports events and Britain warned of “tropical nights” as Europe sweltered through a heatwave threatening to break June temperature records.

Less than a month after a May heatwave that set records in several European countries, the continent is facing a new bout of extreme weather, with temperatures set to rise even further in coming days.

Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming, primarily caused by burning coal, oil and gas — and warn they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.

Here is a roundup of the impacts as the latest heatwave starts in Europe.

France

France went ahead with its annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique, despite the heat, but the Louvre museum in Paris scrapped a free concert under its famous glass pyramid.

But the government announced a ban on alcohol consumption in public places during the festivities in departments under red alert on both health and public order grounds.

In some parts of the country, temperatures had already passed the 40-degree mark, with 42.2 degrees recorded in Pissos, in the southwest Landes region.

Authorities placed a record 35 departments — roughly a third of the country — on red alert. That will rise on Monday to 49 of France’s 96 mainland departments, or half the country, the national weather service said.

In Paris, city officials authorised swimming in the Canal Saint-Martin, so residents could cool off.

Germany

Organisers suspended the final of the Berlin Open tennis tournament and cleared everyone out of the event location because of severe thunderstorms. The match finally resumed six hours later.

The mercury in the German capital topped 30°C across the weekend, with storms sweeping across much of the region on Sunday.

Belgium

Temperatures in Belgium — already past 30 degrees on Sunday (June 21) — are expected to be “the hottest ever recorded” there next week, warned David Dehenauw, head of forecasting at the IRM meteorological institute.

The national rail company SNCB announced that some rush hour trains had been cancelled for Monday and Tuesday to reduce the risk of breakdowns blocking the tracks.

Spain

In Spain, the public screening in Madrid of the national football team’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia was cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the capital, officials said.

Spain declared its first official heatwave of the year from Sunday (June 21) through Wednesday June 24), with temperatures forecast to reach 44°C in some areas.

In Spain and neighbouring Portugal, people swarmed beaches in giant crowds, braved the streets clutching hand-held fans or used umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun as the weekend turned scorchingly hot.

Switzerland

The Swiss weather service warned of a “strong heatwave” bringing temperatures of up to 37°C, with alerts in lower-altitude regions, and said it was unclear when it would end.

Balkans

Orange weather alerts for high temperatures were predicted for parts of Croatia and Serbia in the coming days, with temperatures reaching 35°C.

Croatian authorities issued health recommendations for coping with extreme heat, while North Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro also braced for extreme temperatures.

Britain

Britain’s weather service issued amber warnings for extreme heat from Monday (June 22) to Thursday June 25), with temperatures expected to reach 38°C in England and Wales in the coming days.

“Overnight temperatures will also be very high, with widespread Tropical Nights, where the temperature does not drop below 20°C, across southern parts of England,” the Met Office said.

Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, said this week will bring “an unprecedented heatwave with temperatures likely to reach 38-39°C”, surpassing the June temperature record of 35.6°C.

“This will lead to two consecutive months, May and June, in which the U.K. temperature records have been annihilated by well over 2°C,” Bentley said.

“We are looking at an intense and record-breaking spell of heat with widespread impacts on public health, infrastructure and essential services,” said Akshay Deoras, a research scientist at the meteorology department in Britain’s University of Reading.

Published – June 22, 2026 11:01 am IST

A woman with a hand fan stands on the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower as temperatures rise in Paris during a second heatwave affecting a large part of France.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A woman with a hand fan stands on the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower as temperatures rise in Paris during a second heatwave affecting a large part of France.
| Photo Credit: Reuters