Europe is experiencing a severe and widespread heatwave, with France placing a record number of regions under its highest-level heat alert as soaring temperatures sweep across the continent.

Sixteen French regions, including Paris, are on red alert for Tuesday, while 68 others remain under an orange alert.

This comes after 84 of 96 mainland departments were on orange alert on Monday, which France’s Climate Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher described as an "unprecedented" situation.

Extreme heat has also gripped parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, the UK, and Balkan countries including Croatia, prompting governments to activate emergency services and warn citizens to stay indoors as much as possible.

In France, nearly 200 schools have been closed or partially closed, as the heatwave—now over a week old—is expected to peak midweek.

In Spain and Portugal, temperatures over the weekend reached record highs for June.

El Granado in Andalucía hit 46C on Saturday, while Mora in central Portugal reached 46.6C on Sunday. Seven districts in Portugal, including the capital Lisbon, remain on the highest alert level.

Several forest fires broke out in southern France’s Corbières mountain range on Sunday, forcing evacuations and a motorway closure. Authorities later confirmed that the fires had been contained.

Italy has also raised its heat alert to the maximum level in 21 cities, including Rome, Milan, and Venice, as well as the island of Sardinia.

According to Mario Guarino, vice-president of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine, hospital emergency departments across the country have reported a 10% increase in heatstroke cases.

In the UK, temperatures on Monday approached historic levels.

Heathrow Airport recorded the country’s highest temperature of the day at 33.1C, while Wimbledon saw its hottest ever opening day at 32.9C.

Spain is on course to record its hottest June ever, with continued heat alerts across the country. "I can't sleep well and have insomnia. I also get heat strokes, I stop eating and I just can't focus," said 21-year-old Anabel Sanchez in Seville.

Germany's meteorological service has forecast temperatures close to 38C on Tuesday and Wednesday, warning of possible new records. The heatwave has already lowered water levels in the Rhine River, a key shipping route, reducing cargo loads and pushing up freighting costs.

Balkan countries are also struggling. In Turkey, more than 50,000 people—mostly from the resort city of Izmir—have been evacuated due to wildfires driven by strong winds reaching 120km/h. At least 20 homes were destroyed.

Wildfires have also been reported in Croatia, where coastal regions remain under red heat warnings. In Greece, temperatures have hovered around 40C for days, and recent fires near Athens have forced evacuations and destroyed homes.

Serbia recorded its hottest day ever on Wednesday. The national weather service has warned that "severe and extreme drought conditions prevail" in many areas. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital, reached a record 38.8C on Thursday, and Slovenia reported its hottest June temperature ever on Saturday.

In North Macedonia, temperatures in Skopje rose to 42C on Friday and are expected to stay in that range.

Beyond public health, the heatwave is also affecting the environment. Warmer Adriatic Sea temperatures are encouraging invasive species like the poisonous lionfish and increasing pressure on already receding alpine glaciers.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Monday that the global heat crisis highlights the urgent need for climate adaptation. "Rising temperatures, rising seas, floods, droughts, and wildfires threaten our rights to life, to health, to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and much more," he told the UN Human Rights Council.

According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, heatwaves are becoming more frequent and more intense due to human-driven climate change.

Richard Allan, Professor of Climate Science at the University of Reading, explained that growing greenhouse gas emissions are trapping heat in the atmosphere.

"The warmer, thirstier atmosphere is more effective at drying soils, meaning heatwaves are intensifying, with moderate heat events now becoming extreme," he said.