Slovakia recorded a new all-time high of 41.4 degrees Celsius in Kamenica nad Hronom on Wednesday, surpassing the previous mark set in the same village on June 30. Austria also broke its national record for a second consecutive day, with Bad Deutsch-Altenburg reaching 41.2 degrees, after Vienna set a capital-city record of 40.8 degrees on Tuesday. Bratislava hit 40.6 degrees, a new local high, after the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute issued maximum alerts and rail speeds were capped at 50 km/h on some routes.
The heatwave's toll extended across the continent. Poland's Institute of Meteorology and Water Management raised its highest heat alarm for Warsaw and other areas, with southwestern Poland nearing 40 degrees. In South Korea, at least 16 people died from extreme heat and Seoul declared its highest alert level.
Drought conditions intensified: three municipalities in southern Moravia ran dry, low Danube levels threatened Hungary's Paks nuclear plant, and Austria's Pasterze glacier risks splitting in two. France logged its hottest July on record and England and Wales their driest.