Drowning deaths soar in France as Europe buckles in peak of heatwave

Forty people have drowned in heatwave-related deaths in France since last Thursday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said, as temperatures hit record levels in several major cities and the heatwave reaches a peak in several European countries.

“It’s not something to be taken lightly, going swimming in unsupervised areas during a heatwave,” sports and youth minister Marina Ferrari told French radio.

France, along with Spain and Italy, have been hardest hit by the heatwave so far.

France saw its hottest June day on record on Monday and its hottest ever night on Monday night, with a minimum average of 21.6C according to Météo France, and with well over half the country on red alert.

Meanwhile, in Spain temperatures are set to peak above 40C in some areas, with red alerts in Andalusia in the south, and Cantabria and the Basque Country in the north, on the third day of a national heatwave.

Spain is more exposed to the effects of climate change than almost any other European country. State weather service Aemet says June heatwaves are becoming increasingly common, with 10 recorded in mainland Spain between 2000 and 2025, and just two in the previous 25 years.

And in Italy, a red heatwave alert has been declared in 15 cities, including Rome, Milan, Florence, Turin and Venice. The alert signals conditions that can pose health risks even to healthy adults, not just the elderly or chronically ill.

France’s sports minister said too many people were trying to cool off in rivers and canals without necessarily taking the risks into account.

Among the fatalities was a 13-year-old girl who had gone for a dip with her family in the River Seine at Fontaine-La Port on Sunday evening, although she did not know how to swim.