More than two-thirds of Europeans have experienced temperatures over 35°C during the heatwave from 15–30 June, according to an AFP analysis, as the continent continues to be ill-adapted for hot weather more than 20 years after another record heat spell.
Areas inhabited by some 410 million people in Europe were concerned by the latest heatwave, compared with 320 million during a record-setting heatwave between August 1 and 17, 2003.
AFP made the calculations using daily maximum temperature data from the European Drought Observatory and population figures from the Joint Research Centre.
This year's heatwave led to thousands of extra deaths across several European countries, closed schools and music festivals, and sparked political disputes over whether governments should encourage wider adaptation of air conditioning.
Almost the entire population of mainland France and more than three-quarters of the combined populations of Spain and Italy experienced temperatures exceeding 35°C at some point during the June heatwave, which stretched from the Iberian Peninsula to Ukraine, passing through the Balkans and Germany.
Temperatures exceeded 35°C in an area surrounding the Spanish city of Lleida, Catalonia, for at least 16 consecutive days, according to an AFP analysis of data from the European observatory.
More broadly, daily maximum temperatures rose above 35°C for nearly 50 million people across Europe on at least 10 occasions during the heatwave.
These included 18 million people in central and southern France, over 15 million in northeastern and southwestern Spain, and 12 million in northern Italy, mainly in the Po Valley.
Temperatures hit these levels less frequently in central and eastern Europe, with the 35°C mark exceeded on no more than three days in Poland and no more than four days in Ukraine.
But all-time temperature records were still broken in Germany, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, as well as June records in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
Average temperatures in France hit record highs, notably including the hottest nights ever recorded in the country.
