Europe Grapples with Record-Breaking Heatwave; Thunderstorm Warnings Issued for Germany

A record-breaking heatwave continues to impact Europe, with Italy and the Balkans enduring intense conditions and 22 Italian cities under red heat warnings. While the Met Office in the UK confirmed another heatwave is 'increasingly likely' this coming weekend, Météo-France downgraded heat alerts for Île-de-France to yellow on June 29, though southern departments remain under orange. The Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) has issued warnings for strong thunderstorms with local risk of severe weather due to heavy rainfall in Bavaria, extending to Saxony, and a renewed risk in southeast Germany from Tuesday afternoon. Hundreds of excess deaths have been linked to the extreme heat across the continent.