Temperatures rise above 40C as continent is hit by heatwave and wildfires
Fires burned in France's Aude wine region, along Bulgaria's southern borders, near Montenegro's capital and coast, and in Turkey's north west — and Hungary recorded record-breaking weekend temperatures.
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2025 is predicted to be the second or third-warmest year on record, according to the UK-based Carbon Brief.
The extreme heat in Europe fits that global pattern but the continent is heating far faster than the rest of the world.
A man sunbathes in the Tuileries gardens in Paris (Aurelien Morissard/AP)
Land temperatures have risen about 2.3C above pre-industrial levels, nearly twice the global average, intensifying heatwaves and driving record fire seasons.
With major outbreaks in Spain, Portugal and deadly blazes in Greece since late June, the burned area is already far above the seasonal norm.
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On Monday, the French national weather authority, Meteo-France, placed 12 departments on red alert, the country's highest heat warning, anticipating exceptional heat stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean plains.
Forty-one other departments were under lower-level orange alerts, as was the neighbouring microstate of Andorra, between France and Spain.
Smoke billows from a hill behind vineyards during France's largest wildfire in decades near Camplong-d' Aude, southern France (Manu Fernandez/AP)
'Don't be fooled – this isn't 'normal, it's summer.' It's not normal, it's a nightmare,' agricultural climatologist Serge Zaka told broadcaster BFMTV from Montauban in France's Tarn-et-Garonne department, where the blistering heat pressed relentlessly throughout the day.
Social media images showed shuttered streets in Valence, residents shielding windows with foil to reflect the light, and tourists huddling under umbrellas along the Garonne in Toulouse. Across the south, cafe terraces stood empty as people sought cooler corners indoors.
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In France's Aude department, a patchwork of vineyards and Mediterranean scrubland, hundreds of firefighters remained in the rolling wine country guarding the edges of a massive, deadly blaze that scorched 40,000 acres last week.
Officials say the fire is under control but warn it will not be fully extinguished for weeks, with hot spots still smouldering and at risk of reigniting.
Firefighters battle a wildfire near Montenegro's capital of Podgorica (Risto Bozovic/AP)
The red alert in France has been issued only eight times since it was created in 2004 after a deadly summer the year before.
It is reserved for extreme, prolonged heat with major health risks and the potential to disrupt daily life.
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The heatwave, France's second of the summer, began on Friday and is expected to last all week, carrying into the August 15 holiday weekend.
Montenegro reported wildfires near the capital Podgorica and along the Adriatic coast, prompting urgent appeals for help from neighbouring countries.
Families were evacuated from an area north of the capital as army units worked to protect the ruins of the ancient city of Duklja.
Emergency official Nikola Bojanovic described the situation as 'catastrophic', with strong winds driving the flames. Authorities urged residents to conserve drinking water to avoid restrictions.
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Bosnia's southern city of Mostar reached 43C, while Croatia's Dubrovnik hit 34C in the morning.
In Serbia, farmers on the Suva Planina mountain renewed appeals for emergency water supplies for livestock after streams and ponds dried up.
In Bulgaria, temperatures were expected to exceed 40C Monday on Monday, with maximum fire danger alerts in place.
Nearly 200 fires have been reported; most have been brought under control, localised and extinguished, but the situation remains 'very challenging', said Alexander Dzhartov, head of the national fire safety unit.
In Turkey, a wildfire fuelled by high temperatures and strong winds forced authorities to evacuate holiday homes and a university campus and to suspend maritime traffic in the country's north west.
Sunday brought a new national high of 39.9C on Sunday in the south east of Hungary, breaking a record set in 1948. Budapest also recorded a city record at 38.7C. Authorities imposed a nationwide fire ban amid extreme heat and drought.
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WITH the warm weather continuing, it's a good idea to carry water around with us. Since Chilly's insulated bottles hit the market in 2010, almost every shop had produced their own version to keep your drink cold. 9 Here, Thea Jacobs And Lily Richardson put stores' insulated bottles to the test to see if they can keep your water ice cold all day long. Each bottle contained chilled water and was placed in direct sunlight for 8 hours on a blistering 30C day, and tested hourly. We rate each one out of five. Insulated Travel Flask Beige, 420ml, Tesco, £8 THIS flask isn't much to look at, but would fit in perfectly in a nice minimalist home. It's primarily designed for taking coffees or teas out and keep them warm, but it doesn't do too badly with cold drinks in this test. When I put the water into the flask, it was 19.9C degrees. An hour in and it had actually dropped by 0.2C to 19.7C. The flip lid is easy to use, and it has a smooth directional pour for the liquid to stop spillages. You can turn it upside down and shake it with no leaks at all. After six hours the water temperature had risen to 23.3C and the lid was hot to touch. This doesn't hold as much liquid as the others. I've wasted £100s on leaky water bottles so put 7 to the test for back-to-school Temp rise: 4.5C Rating: 3/5 Smidge Reusable Water Bottle, 500ml, Ocado, £15 9 THIS is certainly an assault on the eyes, but given the fluorescent orange, you'd be hard-pressed to ever lose or forget this bottle. For its size, it's more expensive than the other options but it does prove worth the cost as I measure the water temperature across eight hours. It started at 17C when I put the water in, and in an hour it had only risen 0.3C. This is a nicely sealed bottle and doesn't leak when placed on its side or turned upside down. After six hours in the sun, the bottle is warm to touch but not hot and the water inside is still cool at 20.2C. After eight hours the liquid measured 21.6C. 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After two hours the temperature has only risen to 19.5C, 0.5C higher than it was when I filled the bottle. After six hours the bottle is a little warm to the touch but it is still much cooler than the others. After eight hours, the water temperature had risen to 23.1C Temp rise: 4.1C Rating: 5/5 Gym + Coffee 750ml, £22 9 THIS is the third largest of the insulated bottles I tested and one I've heard pals raving about to take to the gym – possibly because of the name. It's a screw top and is watertight when turned on its side and upside down. After an hour, the temperature of the water inside had risen by 0.5C. After two, the bottle had become extremely hot to touch but the water remained a cool 19.6C. I'm starting to see why people rate this bottle. After eight hours in direct sunlight the water temperature had risen to 23C. While this keeps the liquid super cool, it does become very hot to touch, which makes holding it to take a swig quite hard – but that is the only down side. Temp rise: 4C Rating: 4/5 Insulated Dual Adventure Water Bottle Cup With Handle 880ml, Tesco, £12 9 THE design of this insulated bottle makes it look a bit like a baby's sippy cup crossed with a Stanley bottle – and I can't say I'm a fan. The dual straw and chug hole are a nice touch and make it easy to drink whatever the weather. It doesn't leak when laid on its side or turned upside down. Given that it holds a large volume of water, I was expecting the liquid to stay cooler for longer, but that wasn't the case. Within an hour it had risen 1.3C from 20.4C. Thanks to the colour of the bottle – white reflects the sun – it didn't get hot to touch during the eight hours it spent in direct sunlight. At the end of the day, the water in the bottle was 25.5C. Rating: 2/5 Black Matt 500ml Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottle, WHSmith, £14.99 9 THIS looks like a classic Chilly's insulated bottle, but it's a WHSmith's own-brand dupe. 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