Europe Swelters as Record-Breaking Heatwave Continues

Europe braced for more of an unprecedented heatwave that has smashed records in many countries and sent air-conditioner sales zooming in a continent unused and ill-equipped to handle searing heat.

The extreme weather was being driven by atmospheric and circulation patterns that keep hot air trapped in place for days, causing the mercury to slowly rise, with these factors exacerbated by global warming, experts say.

France’s national temperature indicator – an average of daytime and nighttime temperatures across 30 stations – reached 29.8 degrees on Tuesday, the hottest since measurements began in 1947.

Sales of fans and air conditioners meanwhile skyrocketed in a country where most buildings are not designed to deal with extreme heat.

On Monday, hypermarket operator Carrefour had sold 30,000 units by 6.30pm – “a thousand times more than on a normal day”, CEO Alexandre Bompard said.

Sales on Amazon nearly doubled last week compared with the same period in 2025, while electronics outlet Fnac Darty reported double-digit growth.