France restricts public drinking as Europe swelters under a ‘heat-dome driven furnace’ for the second time in two months

By Laura Paddison, CNN

(CNN) — Europe is sweltering under its second heat dome in two months, with temperatures spiking above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, bringing dangerous conditions across swaths of the planet’s fastest-warming continent. France banned public alcohol consumption, Spain closed a World Cup fan zone and the UK is bracing for an annihilation of its all-time June temperature record.

Heat alerts were posted Monday by 26 countries, from Ireland to Greece, as soaring temperatures deliver one of Western Europe’s worst June heat waves on record.

The punishing temperatures are the result of a heat dome parked over the continent for the second time in two months. Heat domes are persistent high-pressure systems which act like a lid on a pot, trapping hot air and pushing it downward. The heat waves also come as a strengthening El Niño takes shape in the tropical Pacific. This natural climate pattern is known to increase the frequency and severity of heat extremes worldwide.

Scientists say these kinds of heat waves are becoming more severe and more frequent as humans continue to burn fossil fuels and heat the planet.

☀️ Explore CNN Weather for iPhone

Extreme heat can quickly become dangerous and even deadly, especially on a continent where very few people have air conditioning. Only about 20% of European homes have AC, compared to around 90% in the United States.

In France, the blistering heat has been unrelenting. More than half of its 96 regions were under red heat wave alerts Sunday, the most severe level. Temperatures reached above 104 degrees Fahrenheit in some parts of the country.

The heat was so intense Sunday, the government banned public alcohol drinking at Fête de la musique, an annual music festival which takes place across the country and brings millions onto the streets. The ban applied to regions under red heat wave alerts.

“For ‌all ⁠events organized by the state and its agencies, instructions have been given not to offer alcohol,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.

Monday is set to be even hotter, with temperatures rising to more than 107 degrees Fahrenheit in some places. The government has ordered the closure of more than 800 schools, according to a report in the Associated Press.

Monday could be France’s hottest day on record for any month, and there is little chance of respite; temperatures are expected to reach “a very high plateau” until at least Thursday, Météo France said.

It’s an “exceptional heatwave episode on a national scale, with a severity level that could approach that of August 2003,” Météo France said Sunday, referring to the deadly heat wave that killed nearly 15,000 people.

Other parts of Europe are also set to endure unprecedented heat. In the United Kingdom, temperatures are forecast to reach at least 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit Wednesday, according to the country’s Met Office, which would smash the UK’s all-time heat record for June of 96.08 degrees Fahrenheit, last recorded in 1976. Humidity levels will be high, making the heat even more oppressive.

The Met Office issued a rare “Red Extreme Heat Warning” for Wednesday and Thursday.

The country will also endure tropical nights, where temperatures don’t dip below 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Nighttime heat is particularly pernicious as it gives people little chance to rest and recover.

Scientists have sounded the alarm on the extent of the UK’s heat wave. It means two consecutive months “in which the UK temperature records have been annihilated by well over 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit),” said Liz Bentley, chief executive at the Royal Meteorological Society.

“This is not just a heatwave, it is a heat-dome driven furnace that will grip most of southern UK and push temperatures into truly exceptional territory,” said Akshay Deoras, a meteorologist at the University of Reading.

Parts of Spain are sweltering under triple digit temperatures and tropical nights. On the Almería coast in southeastern Spain, nighttime temperatures Sunday into Monday didn’t drop below 86 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the country’s weather service AEMET.

In Madrid, a fan zone set up with big screens for people to watch the World Cup was closed Sunday due to the heat, according to Reuters.

Monday is set to be extremely hot again, AEMET posted on X, adding “the danger is significant in much of the country.”

Heat is often called a silent killer. It lacks the visible destruction of a hurricane, flood or wildfire, yet it’s the deadliest type of extreme weather. Extreme temperatures, especially when combined with high humidity, make sweating and other mechanisms people rely on to cool down become less effective.

Heat and humidity are increasingly reaching levels the human body struggles to cope with. Extreme temperatures have killed more than 200,000 people over the past four years, according to the World Health Organization.

Scientists warn these types of extreme heat waves will only become more common as the planet heats up. “Human-driven climate change has provided the springboard for this event, loading the atmosphere with extra heat and making extreme temperatures far more intense than they would have been in the past,” Deoras said.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Andrew Freedman contributed to this report.