A powerful heat wave sweeping across Europe set new temperature records in Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Denmark on Saturday, as extreme heat shifted from western Europe toward central and eastern parts of the continent.
Even Nordic countries, which are not typically associated with scorching summers, experienced record-breaking temperatures. Denmark recorded its hottest day since weather records began in 1874, with the temperature reaching 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit) in Ødum, north of Aarhus.
Switzerland also registered a new national high for the current heat wave, with temperatures climbing to 38.8 C (101.8 F) in Basel.
In Germany, temperatures were expected to reach 40 C (104 F), causing widespread disruption. Sections of the A2 Autobahn outside Berlin were closed after the concrete road surface buckled under the intense heat. German newspaper Bild also reported damage to highways in several other parts of the country.
Rail operator Deutsche Bahn and other train companies advised people to avoid nonessential travel over the weekend.
"Germany's transportation infrastructure is being severely affected by the record-breaking heat this weekend," Deutsche Bahn said.
The Czech Republic also experienced its hottest day on record, with temperatures reaching 40.6 C (105 F) in the northern town of Doksany. Forecasters said temperatures could climb even higher.
In the western German city of Dormagen, dozens of residents were evacuated from a nursing home after indoor temperatures reached 35 C (95 F), creating dangerous conditions. Air conditioning remains uncommon in Germany and many other European countries because such extreme heat has historically been rare.
A resident at the nursing home died overnight, although authorities said it was not yet known whether the death was heat-related.
In France, temperatures began easing in some areas as the worst of the heat wave passed, but hospitals continued to face heavy pressure from heat-related emergencies, including dehydration, heatstroke and heart attacks.
The Paris public hospital authority activated emergency measures across its 38 hospitals to cope with rising patient numbers.
According to the AP-HP hospital authority, emergency departments treated nearly 3,000 patients over the previous 24 hours, more than one-third above normal levels. Many of the patients were over 75 years old and required hospitalization. Calls to emergency medical dispatch centers also rose by nearly 80% compared with the same period in 2025.
Three-quarters of France, affecting tens of millions of people, remained under a red alert for extreme heat on Thursday and Friday, with temperatures exceeding 40 C (104 F) in some places, including Paris.
Fears that hospitals could become overwhelmed led to the postponement of the Paris Pride march and the cancellation of a three-day music festival.
The current temperatures have surpassed those recorded during the devastating 2003 European heat wave, which claimed around 15,000 lives in France, many of them elderly people. AP-HP Director Nicolas Revel said he did not expect fatalities to reach that level this time because treatment for heat-related illnesses has improved.
However, he warned that deaths were still likely. France's public health authority attributed more than 5,700 deaths to extreme heat during last summer.
"I think we'll be situated clearly between 2025 and without necessarily reaching the catastrophic level of 2003. But we have to expect that there will still be many deaths," Revel said.
In the United Kingdom, temperatures were expected to gradually decline over the weekend, although an amber heat warning remained in effect until Saturday night.
Britain experienced three consecutive days of record June temperatures, with Friday officially becoming the hottest June day ever recorded. A provisional temperature of 37.3 C (99 F) was measured in eastern England, surpassing the previous June record set in 1976 by more than one degree.
Police on Saturday said the body of a 22-year-old man had been recovered from a river after he reportedly got into difficulty while swimming during the heat wave.
Authorities have urged people to be cautious when swimming in unsupervised rivers and lakes following about 40 drowning deaths reported in France over the past week.
In Rome, which remained under a red heat alert, tourists sought relief by resting in the shade, cooling off at public fountains and buying bottled water, hats and umbrellas from street vendors.
"Italian classics" also proved popular for coping with the heat.
"Gelato, pasta, because it's tradition, but also fresh fruit, and ice-cold drinks. That's the best for this temperature," said Isabella Dold, a tourist from Kempten, Germany.
Italy's Health Ministry said 18 cities, including Venice, Florence, Bologna and Milan, remained under red alerts because of dangerously high temperatures.
The heat wave has also renewed attention on climate change.
A study released Friday by World Weather Attribution, a Europe-based group of scientists, concluded that the record-breaking heat and humidity across Europe this week would have been virtually impossible without climate change.
The researchers said such conditions would have been almost impossible 50 years ago and are now around 200 times more likely than they were two decades ago.
André Corrêa do Lago, president of the U.N. climate conference COP30, said the heat wave had reinforced the urgency of tackling climate change.
"The fact that we are living with this amazing heat in London is a strong argument... that we have to take action as soon as possible," he told The Associated Press.