France escalated its heat warnings to 78 departments on orange alert on Wednesday, up from 43 a day earlier, as a deepening heatwave grips the continent. Some 92 million people across France, Italy and Spain are expected to endure temperatures exceeding 35C, with highs of 38 to 40C forecast from the Centre-Val de Loire to Nouvelle-Aquitaine and around 38C in Île-de-France. Fifteen additional French departments remain on yellow alert, mostly in the northeast and the Pyrenees.
A crisis committee convened in France to address severe drought-driven groundwater shortages. Across the continent, roughly 300 million people — more than half of Europe's population — face readings above 30C. The German Weather Service projected highs reaching 37C Thursday and 39C Friday in western and southern Germany, where prolonged heat has pushed Rhine water levels to record lows.
In southern England, firefighters have battled a wildfire near New Forest since Sunday, with more than 1.6 square kilometres burned. The Met Office warned temperatures could surpass 30C for 43 million Britons, after earlier alerts forecast 36C in parts of East Anglia.