Dangerous temperatures forecast for central and eastern Europe

Red warnings issued in Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Balkans, with authorities urging people to stay indoors

Parts of central, eastern and southern Europe sweltered on Monday as the “heat dome” behind last week’s record-breaking temperatures shifted east, bringing dangerous conditions to a new swathe of the continent.

Budapest is forecast to exceed 40C on Tuesday, according to models from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

Belgrade and Bucharest reached 38C and 37C respectively on Monday as the heatwave, which has been linked to hundreds of deaths in western Europe, moved east.

“The two hardest days of the heatwave are coming. Let’s show that we are capable of complete national unity. Let’s look out for each other,” Hungary’s prime minister, Péter Magyar, wrote on X on Monday.

Hungarian authorities published a list of more than 2,000 air-conditioned cooling centres across the country for people unable to find relief from the heat in their homes.

Hungary’s energy minister granted ⁠a temporary exemption for the Paks nuclear power plant from downstream cooling ⁠water temperature rules ⁠to prevent another steep cut in power output amid the heatwave, the plant’s operator ⁠said.

Red warnings for extreme heat have been issued across Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with authorities urging people to stay indoors during the hottest hours of the day.

Germany recorded its highest temperature for a third consecutive day on Sunday, with preliminary data from the DWD weather service showing 41.7C in Coschen, Brandenburg. The extreme heat disrupted transport in several cities after tram tracks buckled, while Berlin police deployed water cannon to cool crowds gathering in public spaces.

In Croatia, the weather service issued a red alert on Monday for regions including the capital, ‌Zagreb, and the tourist destinations of Split and Dubrovnik.

Dozens of firefighters, assisted by four aircraft, battled a wildfire burning pine forests on the tourist island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea, about 34 miles (55 km) south-west of Split.

“I’m doing the same thing as everyone – trying to stay in the shade and drink a lot of water,” Susanne, a Vienna resident, told AFP from the banks of a river near the Austrian capital.

“I just hope that the politicians will understand the situation and will begin to set a course in the right direction,” she said.

The worst of the heat has, however, begun to ease in western Europe after temperature records were shattered. In France, officials said the heatwave had contributed to more than 1,000 excess deaths, while Spain’s institute of health recorded more than 800 additional deaths nationwide.

Elsewhere, the extreme weather brought violent storms. In Italy’s Alto Adige region, torrential rain triggered flash floods and landslides, with up to 50mm falling in just one hour in some areas. Several residents were evacuated from their homes, while firefighters rescued a person trapped in a garage after a river burst its banks near the town of Merano.

The heatwave scorching Europe, the most severe and widespread ever, is only possible due to the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning , scientists have said.

More deaths were also reported across Europe over the weekend. Two cyclists, aged 30 and 71, died, apparently due to the heat, while taking part in a Poland Bike Marathon event near Warsaw on Sunday. In Cyprus, police said two Bulgarian boys, aged eight and 10, were found dead inside a parked car on Sunday afternoon. At least 13 people died in swimming accidents in Germany over the weekend, police in the country said.

Experts say central and eastern Europe faces a uniquely compounding set of vulnerabilities to heat.

The region’s cities are often dominated by socialist-era prefabricated concrete panel blocks designed entirely around heating, with heavy concrete walls that trap heat and have no ventilation for summer.

Air conditioning usage across much of the region remains in the low single figures, against a European average of about 19%, according to the International Energy Agency.

In Ukraine , the battered energy grid was bracing for a sharp rise in electricity demand as temperatures climbed. Emergency power outages were reported in several regions amid the extreme heat, according to local authorities and electricity providers.

The state hydrometeorological centre forecast temperatures of 35C to 38C on Monday, warning of “intense heat”.

“The heat is also a serious test for equipment that has been operating under wartime conditions for more than four years and has withstood numerous attacks,” Serhii Kovalenko, chief executive of energy company Yasno, said over the weekend. “In the coming days the power system will be operating in a very strained mode.”

Grid operators in at least five regions – from Ivano-Frankivsk in the west to Zaporizhzhia on the frontline in the south – announced temporary restrictions on energy usage would be in force during parts of Tuesday.

Reuters and AFP contributed to this report