Paris bakes as heat wave turns deadly

A record-smashing heat wave is dominating much of western Europe, including France, parts of Spain, the U.K., Germany and Switzerland and is spreading into central Europe where it will remain in place through the weekend.

Hottest days and night in France

In some areas, it's rewriting June, even all-time record books – multiple times.

According to Météo-France, the official French meteorological administration, Wednesday tied the hottest day on record in France, which was just set on Tuesday.

Prior to this heat wave, July 25, 2019, and August 5, 2003, were considered the country's hottest days on record, when considering a combination of 30 weather reporting stations across the country.

The country also set records for its warmest night twice, first Monday night, then again Wednesday night, in records dating to 1947, Météo-France said.

Another 12 all-time record were broken so far on Thursday, bringing the total of all-time records broken to over 220. That is 60% of the stations with reliable records certified by Météo-France.

Over 700 stations have broken their monthly records since this heatwave began.

Bordeaux, in the west of France, had its three hottest temperatures in 106 years Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, topping out at 108.5 degrees Fahrenheit. They hit 104.5 on Thursday.

Cherbourg (98.6 degrees) clobbered its previous all-time record high by almost 6 degrees Tuesday.

Among the hottest highs in France so far were 111.7 degrees in Pissos and 110.4 degrees in Cazaux.

Highs soared to 104 degrees at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport Wednesday.

Météo-France issued an unprecedented number of red heat wave alerts across the nation. This extreme heat and winds in some areas is leading to a high risk of rapidly spreading wildfires, as well.

And we can't completely write off a chance at the nation's all-time record high, 114.8 degrees set on June 28, 2019.

Temperatures like these are similar to that of the Desert Southwest in the U.S. But the difference? Most places in Europe lack air conditioning to combat the heat. 

There won’t be many places across the planet hotter than France this week. 

Météo-France said this heat wave has a severity level that could approach that of August 2003, which claimed nearly 15,000 lives in France alone, though its duration will be much shorter than that 16 day historic heat wave.  

Another interesting statistic is that Paris, France has seen more days at or above 104 degrees this week than the entire 147-year period from 1872 to 2019.

Not only are daytime high temperatures a concern, but nighttime lows will be little to no relief from the heat, even when the sun goes down, exacerbating the heat stress impacts.

(MORE: Why nighttime temperatures matter in a heat wave)

The UK's heat peak arrives

The U.K. has already smashed multiple June temperature records.

It's the second day in a row that June record was topped, after Merryfield, Somerset hit 98 degrees on Thursday. The previous June U.K. record was 96.1 degrees set 50 years ago.

It's the first time since 1911 that two consecutive months have observed record-breaking highs in the U.K.

If that wasn't enough, Wednesday night, Cardiff, Wales, only dropped to 74.3 degrees, the hottest June low temperature on record for both Wales and the U.K.

For the first time, the U.K. Met Office issued red alerts for extreme heat for three straight days, including the London metro and much of the south of England through Friday.

Temperatures have soared into the 90s both Tuesday and Wednesday as far north as the Midlands of England. London's Heathrow Airport soared to 95 degrees Wednesday and Thursday, and other locations in the metro were even a few degrees hotter.

What's also shattering records is how muggy the air is.

Dew points, a measure of how much moisture is in the air, climbed into the 70s over virtually all of southern England Wednesday. That's the first time on record 70-plus dew points have been measured in London, according to Washington Post meteorologist Ben Noll.

It's scorching, elsewhere

On Monday, it was as hot as 113 degrees in Andujar, Spain. Tuesday's high of 110.7 degrees in Tama, Spain, was an all-time record for Spain's Cantabria region, according to AEMET, the country's meteorological service.

Spain has also seen their hottest day as a nation as a whole from this heatwave.

But it's been Spain's daily low temperatures that have stolen the show, so far.

Parts of the south of Spain's Almerìa coast bordering the Mediterranean Sea haven't dropped below 86 degrees for three mornings in a row. According to AEMET, that's the first time any location in Spain's mainland has recorded a June low that warm , much less for three consecutive June days.

And in the north of Spain, the village of Tresviso set its all-time hottest daily low temperature of 80.2 degrees. That's' a daily low temperature you might commonly find in mid-summer at sea level along the U.S. Gulf Coast, rather than at 3,000 feet elevation in Spain.

Elsewhere, highs in the upper 90s were recorded Wednesday in parts of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and some valley locations in Switzerland.

Luxembourg saw their hottest June high of 97.3 degrees on Thursday, breaking their previous record set in 2017. Their records go back to 1947.

When will there be relief?

London will see searing heat through Friday, before relief arrives this weekend, so that by the time Wimbledon kicks off, pleasant highs in the 70s will be the rule.

Paris will continue to see searing heat through Saturday, then after Sunday thunderstorms, relief will arrive Monday.

In Germany, the heat wave will intensify and last through the weekend, with relief arriving by Monday.

In Central Europe, the peak of the heat wave will be this weekend into Monday, before relief arrives around midweek.

(FORECASTS: Munich | Prague | Krakow | Budapest)

During extreme heat, remember these safety precautions:
-Take frequent breaks when outside
-Drink more water than usual
-Take cool showers or baths
-Wear lightweight and light-colored clothing

Miriam Guthrie is an associate meteorologist with weather.com who graduated from Georgia Tech with her undergrad and graduate degree in Earth & Atmospheric Sciences.

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