Italy's third heat wave of the summer is expected to peak on Thursday with temperatures reaching 41–42°C in Cagliari, Nuoro, Caltanissetta and Foggia, while interior Sardinia and Sicily could see spikes of 46°C and 45°C respectively before the African anticyclone begins to retreat from Monday.
In France, the heat started receding across the north and Nouvelle-Aquitaine from Wednesday morning, though Île-de-France, Rhône-Alpes, Corsica, Occitania and Lot-et-Garonne remain on orange heat alert. Meanwhile, 16 departments face orange warnings for violent thunderstorms, with up to 50 mm of rain, hail up to 5 cm and wind gusts of 100 km/h possible in the Centre-East and Rhône Valley.
Belgium also faces thunderstorms in its south-east on Thursday, before temperatures drop to around 22°C over the weekend, following midweek highs near 31°C.