France has recorded at least 1,000 excess deaths in just three days at the peak of a historic heatwave, as the World Health Organization warned that Europe is now the fastest-warming continent on Earth. The country's national public health agency, Public Health France, reported that daily deaths climbed from around 1,200 on Wednesday — France's hottest day — to over 1,400 on each of the two following days, against a baseline of roughly 900 to 1,000 deaths per day in the weeks before the heatwave. The agency estimates at least 1,000 additional deaths occurred during that period, a figure it cautioned is likely to rise as more data, including deaths at home, is collected. Some 85% of those deaths involved people aged 65 and above.

Across the continent, temperature records were shattered in rapid succession over the weekend. Germany registered a new national record of 41.7 degrees Celsius in Neißemünde, near the Polish border, while the Czech Republic recorded its hottest day ever at 41.1°C. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded across Europe since 21 June linked to high temperatures. "Heat stress is often called the 'silent killer' — and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures," he warned. A rapid scientific assessment by World Weather Attribution, a Europe-based research collaboration, concluded that the extreme heat would have been virtually impossible fifty years ago and is now 200 times more likely than it would have been just two decades ago.

The heatwave, driven by a so-called "heat dome" — a weather pattern in which sinking air compresses, heats up and dries out at ground level, preventing cloud formation — triggered cascading crises across the region. In Germany, wildfires broke out in forests still contaminated with unexploded World War II ammunition, forcing firefighters to temporarily withdraw as ordnance detonated; around 650 residents were evacuated from the village of Traisen in southwest Germany. Berlin's police deployed water cannons typically used for crowd control to spray cooling mist over crowds near the Brandenburg Gate. National rail operator Deutsche Bahn urged passengers to avoid all non-essential travel after highway surfaces buckled in the heat and more than 600 passengers were stranded on an overheated train. In France, at least 74 people drowned in unsupervised rivers, lakes and ponds since the heatwave began, authorities said. The Dutch music festival Defqon.1 was cancelled following an unprecedented red heat alert, and Paris authorities banned public takeaway alcohol consumption and cancelled the city's pride march to ease the burden on emergency services.

The crisis has reignited debate about Europe's long-term preparedness for extreme heat. Tedros called on governments to implement concrete heat health action plans focused on preparedness, prevention and stronger health system responses. Analysts note a structural tension in countries such as Germany between issuing public warnings and actually adapting infrastructure — from air-conditioning in trains and buildings to urban planning that allows for better air circulation and green spaces. "Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average," Tedros said. "Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the 'once-in-a-generation' heatwave is now occurring nearly every year." As the extreme heat moves eastward toward other parts of the continent, the death toll and the pressure on governments to move from crisis management to long-term adaptation are both expected to grow.